Text description provided by the architects. With the rapid development of Shenzhen, the urban population increased rapidly. It was up to 17.56 million in 2021. At the same time, there is a huge gap of places. The gap of places in Grade 1 of elementary schools in the whole city was 49,500 and that in the first year of junior high school was 10,600 in 2020. The highly intensive urban construction land has also led to a lack of land for the construction of elementary and secondary schools. There is a sharp contradiction between the gap of places and the lack of land for the construction of schools.
The construction land “in the original special zone” in Shenzhen had “zero growth” or even “negative growth” for many years, while the scale of construction land “outside the original special zone” in Bao’an, Longgang, Guangming, Pingshan, and other places became smaller and smaller year by year. Since 2017, the construction of elementary and secondary schools has become a hot topic in society. For example, in “Futian 8+1 New Campus Program” and other activities, new breakthroughs and possibilities in campus design under the above contradiction were explored. Longhua District is also exploring in this direction.
Fucheng Experimental School of Longhua District, Shenzhen (formerly known as “Xianwu School”) is located in the northern part of Xianwu Old Village, Guanlan Office, Longhua District. It has Yuexing Road to the north and planned roads to the east and south. To the north of this property is Shijing Group 1 New Village. To the south of it is a wasteland. To the west is the “Xianwu Building” consisting of two high-rise residential buildings. The base is rectangular. On the north side of the land, there is the flood discharge channel along Yuexing Road. The terrain is low in the north and high in the south. The height difference is about 5 meters. The project has a land area of 12,192.46㎡, a total building area of 28,694.93㎡, a plot ratio of 1.956, and a coverage rate of 24.40%. Among them, the above-ground building area is 17,087.41㎡and the underground building area is 11,607.52㎡. There are a total of 81 underground parking spaces and 268 above-ground bicycle parking spaces.
1. Origin of the school, courtyard under the tree. In ancient times in China, “Confucius taught on the Apricot Altar” and gathered apprentices and taught them in the Apricot Forest. American architect Louis Kahn also mentioned that “schools originated from a person sitting under a tree and discussing about his understanding with a group of people”. In this design, the concepts of “big tree” and “courtyard” are introduced, four courtyard spaces with plentiful layers and their sense of enclosure are emphasized, and the traditional “academy” style similar to that of “Yuelu Academy” is created.
2. Future school and resource sharing. In this design, the layout model of “resource sharing” of “future school” is used. The height difference of the terrain is used to form a platform 5.1 meters high. It has academic sharing functions such as professional classrooms, combined-teaching classrooms, microteaching classrooms, and libraries, forming an “Academic Center” shared between elementary and secondary schools; above the platform is the “Teaching Center” mainly for general education, which is connected to the “Academic Center”; and the faculty dormitory is elevated on the north side of the “Teaching Center”, forming a relatively independent and quiet “living center” with the canteen. The “Cultural and Sports Center” consisting of a gymnasium, a multifunctional hall, and others is located in a semi-basement at an elevation of -5.1 meters and vertically connected to the functions on the ground. The 4 centers maintain independence and have a close “sharing” relationship.
3. Group teaching and activity in the neighborhood. The project is a nine-year system school with 27 classes. Our layout is as follows. A group consists of 3 classes in each grade. There are three groups on each floor. Among them, the junior high school group is located on the south side, while the elementary school group combined with some professional classrooms is in two courtyards in the north. The remaining professional classrooms are arranged in three groups in an “S” shape along the north, east, and west sides. Elementary and junior high school can use the nearby professional classrooms. On the scattered big and small activity platforms, students can carry out breaktime activities in the neighborhood without going upstairs and downstairs.
4. Open cultural and sports space serves the community. The functions such as indoor stadium, swimming pool, multifunctional hall, library, and moral education exhibition hall are set at an elevation of -5.1 meters, forming a centralized and independent “Cultural and Sports Center”. Among them, the sports facilities are located on the northeast side. An independent entrance hall is set at the north entrance so that it is convenient to be open to the community on weekends and holidays. The cultural facilities are located on the southwest side, making it easy to connect to the “Teaching Center”.
5. Courtyards are open and closed and steps are interesting. The 4 courtyards can be divided into “inner courtyard” and “outer courtyard”. The inner courtyard serves the teaching space, creating a rich and active environment. The outer courtyard faces the green space in the park and sports field, providing the line of sight of the landscape. Combined with the steps and stairs arranged in the courtyard, the surrounding landscape is introduced to the greatest extent, providing children with an interesting activity platform.
6. Shelter from the sun and rain, Lingnan style. The open floor connecting the whole school connects to the South Entrance Square with an elevation of 5.1 meters and is located between the “Academic Center” and “Teaching Center”, providing teachers and students with shelter from the sun and rain suitable for the hot, humid, and rainy climate in the south. The layout of the outer corridor, elevated ground floor, large overhanging eaves, and courtyard enclosure appropriately respond to the climate of Lingnan; and the pallid dominant tone decorates the colorful wall, showing the young and bouncing campus style.
