World Building of the Year: Chinese boarding school receives 2023 architectural honor
[ad_1]
Singapore
CNN
—
A Chinese boarding school designed to let students unwind and “waste time mindfully” has been named 2023’s World Building of the Year.
Featuring a rooftop park, treehouses and elevated walkways in a “floating forest,” the Huizhen High School in Ningbo, Zhejiang province in eastern China, won the coveted title at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Singapore on Friday.
Designed by Approach Design Studio and the Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design Group, the serene campus’ communal areas are intended to blur the distinction between inside and out. The building features an open-air lecture hall and tree-lined pathways, in addition to study facilities for the 30-class school’s students.
Courtesy Approach Design Studio/Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design Group
“Our focus was not just about designing a school, or working with new forms, spaces, materials and facades, but about designing new school life and bringing the power of nature into the building,” said Di Ma, director at Approach Design Studio and the Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design Group, in a statement.
Approach Design Studio said that while teaching prioritizes efficiency, a school’s campus itself should inspire free thinking. In its project description, the firm said its design was intended to let students “release stress, adjust their body and mind and discover beauty” outside the classroom.
The coveted World Building of the Year title is considered one of the architecture profession’s top accolades and is decided at the annual festival by a 140-strong expert panel. This year’s winning design was commended by judges for breaking with the conventions of school design.
Citing the jury while presenting the award on stage, WAF’s program director Paul Finch described the project as “(as) unexpected as it is delightful.”
“The architects managed to create a school which is very different than the usual model, where students are boxed in and put under teaching — as well as architectural — pressure,” Finch told attendees. “By contrast, this design encourages walking, fresh air and the possibility of relief from academic intensity.”
Courtesy Approach Design Studio/Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design Group
A communal study space at the boarding school, which is designed…
[ad_2]
Read More: World Building of the Year: Chinese boarding school receives 2023 architectural honor