Amidst a complex site environment, this project creates a high-density school setting by skillfully adapting to the existing terrain, forming an interactive mountain-forest campus. On one hand, it rationally zones the compact site; on the other, it leverages elevation differences to craft diverse exploratory learning spaces. The site is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with Beihuan Avenue to the south, and features multiple disconnected terraces with significant elevation variations.
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Silver 🏆 Winner
Global Future Design Awards 2025
Taohuayuan School (High School)
Educational Architecture (Under Construction)
Firm
SHENZHEN YICHUANG INTERNATIONAL DESIGN CO.,LTD
Architect/Designer
Lan Li, Miao Shengze
Design Team
Zhang Shaobo,Yan Hailun,Tang Xianglong,Xu Liang,Sun Yuanyuan,Duan Junyi,Lv Yang,Shao Xueming,Chen Zhenhua,Li Meng,Huang Jing
Location
Longzhu Avenue, Nanshan District, Shenzhen
Country
China
Photographer/Copyright
©SHENZHEN YICHUANG INTERNATIONAL DESIGN CO.,LTD
Website
http://www.szycgj.cn/
Instagram
N/A
Facebook
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Whatsapp
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Located in Nanshan District’s Tanglang Mountain area, the school is set to open in 2025, initially adding 30 high school classes (1,500 seats). At full capacity, it will accommodate 54 classes (2,700 seats), covering a site area of 41,342.81 sqm with a total floor area of 104,381 sqm.
Planning Philosophy: Harmony Between Humanity and Nature, Returning to Simplicity
Inspired by traditional Chinese landscape design, the project reorganizes natural elements with a key underlying principle: architecture should not dominate. In Lingnan (southern China), buildings ought to be humble and unpretentious, avoiding exaggerated forms. Instead, they should “recede,” embodying the ethos of harmony with nature and a return to authenticity.
- Preserving the Mountain Forest | Protecting Natural Landforms
By adapting to the terrain, the architecture blends with the mountains, fostering a campus that teaches students to trust science, collaborate, and face challenges with resilience. - Leveraging the Terrain | Function Follows Topography
Functional zones are strategically placed based on elevation and pedagogical needs, maximizing terrain adaptability while enhancing spatial dynamism. Academic clusters revolve around standard classrooms, while specialized classrooms are grouped into smaller pavilions along the slopes. - Mountain Trails | Three-Dimensional Learning Journeys
A multi-layered, vertically interconnected campus encourages open exploration. Three learning paths unfold:- A stepped valley ascent,
- A winding mountain circumnavigation,
- A sloping tunnel through the hillside.
- Ring Road | Navigating the Sea of Knowledge
The fire-access road encircles the mountain with minimal ecological disruption, linking all elevations via gentle slopes and creating diverse outdoor learning environments. - Following the Contours | Organic Growth
Horizontally expansive learning vistas emerge by minimizing excavation and aligning layouts with natural ridges, as if the campus grew organically from the land.
Spatial Design: Fragmentation to Unity, A Campus of Thought
New Pedagogical Dynamics: Students drive learning; teachers facilitate motivation; spaces inspire curiosity. Catering to digitally native, collaboration-oriented, goal-driven teens, the design prioritizes interactive zones that blend classrooms, labs, and informal hubs into a cohesive complex for “teaching, inquiry, exploration, and exchange.”
- Academic Clusters: Every two classrooms share an open-plan “learning unit” with adjacent informal spaces, fostering spontaneous collaboration.
- Cultural Landscaping: Four Lingnan-style courtyards themed on benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, and wisdom reinforce tradition through sculptural elements and fluid sightlines.
- Athletics Hub: Elevated fields shelter all-weather activity circuits below, connecting clusters for interdisciplinary experiences. The sports complex—spanning two 36-meter column-free halls—houses a gymnasium, multipurpose courts, a daylight theater, and lecture halls. Outdoor innovation labs merge with nature, future-proofing education.
Architectural Language: Soaring volumes express eco-futurism, while ground-level pitched roofs evoke vernacular villages, bridging modernity and cultural heritage.
Epilogue
To plan a campus transcends landscaping—it is a philosophical choice shaping how knowledge, ethics, and worldviews take root in the relationship between humanity and nature. This project seeks to reconstruct nature within the built environment, returning to a primordial ecology of forests, flora, and waterways.
(Note: “Peach Blossom Spring” (桃花源) alludes to the Chinese utopian ideal of harmony with nature.)Translation Style: Balanced scholarly and poetic tones, retaining key cultural concepts (e.g., “天人合一” as “Harmony Between Humanity and Nature”) while ensuring fluid readability. Technical terms (e.g., “灰空间” as “informal hubs”) are localized for clarity.
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