Qutan Ampliación de Escola Primaria by Saup Szu

Qutan Ampliación de Escola Primaria by Saup Szu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award de Bronce in Deseño de Arquitectura, Edificación e Estruturas Competition Category.

BronceArquitectura· 2023

Qutan Ampliación de Escola Primaria

by Saup Szu

Client: The Institute of Architecture Design & Research of Shenzhen University

A' Design Award de Bronce Winner in Arquitectura Category

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Verified Award Winner

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Qutan Ampliación de Escola Primaria

Qutan é unha ampliación de dous andares para unha escola primaria nunha vila remota do sur de China. O novo edificio engade catro aulas, unha sala de lectura, dúas salas de actividades e dous despachos para profesores nunha área de 570 metros cadrados. Situada nun terreo baleiro no lado leste do campus, a ampliación separa o tranquilo recinto escolar da praza da vila no exterior. Cantos rodados recollidos dos leitos fluviais locais forman os muros de alvenaría do andar térreo. As reixas de sombreamento solar nas fachadas leste e oeste reducen a luz solar do verán.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Bronce

Qutan Ampliación de Escola Primaria gañou o A' Design Award de Bronce, un recoñecemento altamente prestixioso outorgado a deseños sobresaíntes que se distinguen pola creatividade, o enxeño e a sagacidade. Os gañadores Bronce son artefactos amplamente hábiles e sorprendentemente creativos que autentican a vasta experiencia, imaxinación e enxeño dos seus deseñadores. Espérase que Qutan Ampliación de Escola Primaria sexa un obxecto moi apreciado, admirado e querido, notablemente profesional e innovador. Este deseño gañador do A' Design Award de Bronce incorpora as mellores prácticas da arte, a ciencia, o deseño e a tecnoloxía, e é excelente pola súa atención ao detalle. Qutan Ampliación de Escola Primaria satisfai espléndidamente as necesidades, toca os desexos, encanta os sentimentos e atrae a curiosidade.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: The design team embedded the new two-story building on the vacant lot on the east side of the school campus to divide the school space into internal and external parts. By doing so, the quietness inside the school can be ensured, and the Central Small Square outside is turned into an extension and transition of the village's communal space. The corridor running through the middle of the new building forms a circulation route and also shows the application of traditional architectural space form.
Dimensions & Packaging: Project area: 570 square meters
Type: School
Tags: School, traditional architectural, cobbles, pitched roof, Qutan Village
Production Technology: The newly added building's first-floor walls combined masonry technique and cobbles commonly found in local riverbeds. The wall construction methods inherited local architectural traditions. What's more, to block sunlight in summer and strengthen the comfort of spatial use, sun-shading grilles were installed on the east and west exteriors of the newly added building, and the width of the west corridor was expanded to offer more activity space to children.
Design Challenge: Qutan Primary School originally comprised a two-story teaching building in the north and a single-story auxiliary building in the south, with an activity venue in the middle. Since the existing layout blurred the boundary between the school and the village's public space, the school space lacked a sense of belonging. Meanwhile, cars from outside the village often parked at will on the open area where the school's east entrance is located, which brought potential safety hazards.
Research: The project is located in Qutan, a remote village in southern China. To improve learning conditions, retain more children to study in local primary school, and avoid the separation between them and their parents, Qutan Village Committee decided to use the funds donated by the society to extend the existing campus of Qutan Primary School by adding a two-story building that accommodates four classrooms, one reading room, two activity rooms, and two teachers' offices.
Inspiration: The new architecture learned from the wisdom of local traditional buildings to adapt to the climate, and adopted cobbles, a typical local material of Qutan, to construct masonry walls. The project's completion has expanded the students' learning space, satisfied their need for a nearby school, and created a safer school environment with a sense of belonging. And it has also established an architectural paradigm reflecting Qutan's architectural traditions.
Project Duration: Location: Qutan Village, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province, China
Design start date: 2021.05
Design end date: 2020.07
Operation Flow: The project is located in Qutan, a remote village in southern China. The brief is extending the existing campus of Qutan Primary School by adding a two-story building that accommodates four classrooms, one reading room, two activity rooms, and two teachers' offices. The project's completion has expanded the students' learning space, satisfied their need for a nearby school, and also established an architectural paradigm reflecting Qutan's architectural traditions.
Team Members: Zhong Botao
Zhong Dekun
Zhong Zhong
Xiong Yonghui
Xing Canqiu
Zhang Yixiang
Image Credits: Image copyright: Ding Xia