Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. 北京市建筑设计研究院股份有限公司

Huangling New District Kindergarten

Huangling New District Kindergarten
3F platform. Image © Zhi Xia

Huangling New District Kindergarten 

BIAD

ARCHITECTS
Biad

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Hua Shi

LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Hua Shi, Fan Yang, Yishuang Chu, Chen Liang

DESIGN TEAM
Hua Shi, Fan Yang, Yishuang Chu, Linzhi Zhang, Lu Wang, Chen Liang, Qi Zhang

STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Meng Yu, Mengqian Fang

PHOTOGRAPHS
Zhi Xia, Hua Shi

AREA
7461 m²

YEAR
2019

LOCATION
Yan'an, China

CATEGORY
Kindergarten

ORIGIN

Huangling New District Kindergarten is a design practice based on the current situation of primary education in Northern Shaanxi.

Huangling New District Kindergarten
northeastern side. Image © Zhi Xia
Huangling New District Kindergarten
southwest side. Image © Zhi Xia

It is a new kind of kindergarten which not only contains the hopes of the masses from this rapidly developing county in the northern part of China, but also reflects the determination of the local government to do concrete things for its people.

PROJECT SITE

Huangling County is located in the south of Yan’an, as a symbol of Chinese civilization. Situated between Qiao Mountains, and covered by Ju River, the whole county is established around the valley.

Huangling New District Kindergarten
activity filed. Image © Zhi Xia
Huangling New District Kindergarten
lower level ramp. Image © Zhi Xia

The location of Huangling New District Kindergarten is also surrounded by such geographical environment, with a narrow and long piece of land between two mountains, with an inclination angle of 45 ℃ to the north and south direction. Large trees are kept there, which are rare resources of landscape.


SPATIAL STRATEGY

In such surrounding environment, Huangling New District Kindergarten intervenes in the site in a free and open attitude, corresponding to the natural and educational contents in the level of space and environment design.

Huangling New District Kindergarten
atrium. Image © Zhi Xia
Huangling New District Kindergarten
children playing on the stairs. Image © Hua Shi

The units for students’ daily life are the center of the space for study and life in the whole kindergarten.

Its design avoids the excessive emphasis on the sense of form in activity units which generally can be seen in most kindergartens nowadays. Instead, it integrates the units into overall space planning.

Huangling New District Kindergarten
2F atrium. Image © Hua Shi
Huangling New District Kindergarten
public study area. Image © Hua Shi

An open atrium of three layers together with sufficient sunshine serves as the center of the space, connecting all the open activity units.

The concepts of floors or grades are blurred here. It can become a community for children of different ages to learn and play, and grow up together during this process.

Huangling New District Kindergarten
classroom interior. Image © Zhi Xia
Huangling New District Kindergarten
washing basin and reading area. Image © Zhi Xia

The sunny atrium dispels the space pressure brought by the high density, and the full openness makes the place more relaxing and comfortable and provides a rich background for education.

Light becomes the medium of communication between the space and nature. The changing skylight frame creates rich lights and shades, reminding the children inside the space as time passes.

Huangling New District Kindergarten
reading corner. Image © Zhi Xia
Huangling New District Kindergarten
activity room. Image © Zhi Xia

As for the public learning area, it is much freer. A one-story high building contains the public functional spaces of the kindergarten, such as the music & sports room, the library, the handcraft room, etc.

In the space planning, our design breaks the traditional concept of functional classrooms, and replaces it with a free flowing and open space equipped with compound functions. 

Huangling New District Kindergarten
open washing basin. Image © Zhi Xia
Huangling New District Kindergarten
classroom interior. Image © Zhi Xia

The functions are interrelated and influenced by each other, creating conditions for diversified learning.

As kindergarten in a county with inconvenient transportation, its design strategy acts on the natural and cultural level, applying more to the local conditions.

Huangling New District Kindergarten
children playing on the corridor. Image © Hua Shi
Huangling New District Kindergarten
atrium. Image © Hua Shi

As architecture for kids, the project is full of warm design contents, such as atrium ith sufficient sunshine, indoor and outdoor space which are “seeing and being seen”, game ramp surrounding the trees, stairs for contact, free and open roof, blackboard that can be scribbled on at will, warm and comfortable book conner, convenient toilet…, vivid scenes of study and life are carefully arranged everywhere.


MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

Considering financial limitation and local construction level, no more special attempts were made on the materials and construction.

Huangling New District Kindergarten
ramp. Image © Zhi Xia
Huangling New District Kindergarten
© Zhi Xia

In harmony with the sufficient sunshine in Northern Shaanxi and its simple building structure, the facade of the buildings adopts the most simple and bright white painting.


Huangling New District Kindergarten
ramp. Image © Zhi Xia
Huangling New District Kindergarten
2F roof. Image © Zhi Xia
Huangling New District Kindergarten
aerial view. Image © Zhi Xia
Huangling New District Kindergarten
blackboard on the corridor. Image © Zhi Xia
Huangling New District Kindergarten
rest space. Image © Zhi Xia
Huangling New District Kindergarten
outdoor theater 2F roof. Image © Zhi Xia


Huangling New District Kindergarten
1F plan
Huangling New District Kindergarten
2F plan
Huangling New District Kindergarten
3F plan
Huangling New District Kindergarten
site plan


Huangling New District Kindergarten
context
Huangling New District Kindergarten
functional analysis


Huangling New District Kindergarten
axonometrical section diagram
Huangling New District Kindergarten
axonometrical section diagram


Huangling New District Kindergarten
axonometric
Huangling New District Kindergarten
axonometric


Huangling New District Kindergarten
section
Huangling New District Kindergarten
section
Huangling New District Kindergarten
section

Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. 北京市建筑设计研究院股份有限公司
T +86 10 88042183
Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. 北京市建筑设计研究院股份有限公司
No. 62, Nanlishi Road, Xicheng District, Beijing, China 北京市西城区南礼士路62号