The Weave Aedificium Educationis by Yuchen Qiu

The Weave Aedificium Educationis by Yuchen Qiu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum in Architectura Competition Category.

AesArchitectura· 2026

The Weave Aedificium Educationis

by Yuchen Qiu

Client: Studio Liminal

Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum Winner in Architectura Category

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Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #181654

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About The Weave Aedificium Educationis

Textura est aedificium educationis creatum per usum adaptivum scholae publicae latericiae forma litterae H in urbe Novi Eboraci, in Civitatibus Foederatis Americae. Coniunctor centralis removetur et substituitur atrio ex ligno massivo et vitro ferri minimi facto, quod commune spatium discendi format. Discendi ratio ordinatur ut circulus institutionis, exercitationis, et disputationis vel meditationis. Commune spatium hos modos coniungit per circulationem visibilem, margines studiorum, et gradus conventuum. Lux diurna et orientatio clara usum cotidianum adiuvant. Reusus testae latericiae et constructio lignea carbonem inclusum et purgamenta aedificationis minuunt.

The Recognition

About the Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum

The Weave Aedificium Educationis victor est Praemii A' Design Award Aeneum, honoris multum aestimati formis egregiis, creandi ingenio, sollertia et acumine insignibus dati. Victores Aenei opera perita et mire creandi sunt, quae experientiam, imaginationem et solertiam auctorum suorum confirmant. Exspectatur The Weave Aedificium Educationis rem multum aestimatam, admiratam et carissimam, notabiliter professionalem et novam fore. Haec forma Aeneo victa optimas consuetudines artis, scientiae, formandi rationis et technologiae amplectitur et in cura minutiarum excellit. The Weave Aedificium Educationis necessitates egregie explet, cupiditates tangit, sensus capit et curiositatem allicit.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: Adaptive reuse of a New York City H-plan masonry public school. The central connector is removed and replaced with a mass timber and low iron glass atrium that organizes the School of Methodology, where learning cycles through instruction, practice, and discussion or reflection. The new commons weaves these modes into a visible shared heart, increasing daylight, orientation, and flexible study and gathering space while reuse and timber reduce embodied carbon and construction waste.
Dimensions & Packaging: Selective demolition of the existing connector enables a prefabricated mass-timber (GLT/CLT) frame inserted within the retained masonry shell. New low-iron curtain wall integrates with timber nodes. Assembly is conceived as a dry, bolted system for fast erection and disassembly. Reuse of the existing structure and timber construction reduce embodied carbon and site waste.
Tags: Adaptive Reuse, Educational Architecture, Mass Timber, Low-Carbon Design, Daylighting, Learning Commons, Embodied Carbon, Passive Strategies, Glass Atrium, Healthy Materials
Production Technology: The intervention is conceived as a prefabricated mass timber structure integrated with the retained masonry building. Glulam columns and beams support CLT floor and roof panels, connected with bolted steel plates for dry assembly. A low iron insulated glass facade ties the new atrium to the existing wings. Reusing the shell and using timber reduces embodied carbon, site waste, and disruption.
Design Challenge: The key challenge was inserting a contemporary commons into a heavy masonry H-plan while keeping the original building legible and improving sustainability. The proposal had to balance selective demolition, structural feasibility, and code-driven circulation with daylight, thermal comfort, and long-term adaptability. Achieving a light, transparent intervention without increasing energy demand required careful sectional iteration.
Research: Research examined how an H-plan school can support learning through instruction, practice, and reflection while improving environmental performance through reuse. Methods included precedent study, movement/adjacency diagrams, daylight and visibility mapping, and iterative sectional/structural studies. The resulting strategy replaces the central connector with a mass-timber and glass commons that increases shared space, legibility, and low-energy flexibility.
Inspiration: The project was motivated by two goals: strengthen the learning cycle of instruction, practice, and reflection, and extend the life of a durable public school building through reuse. Typical H-plan schools separate activities into wings with weak shared space. A transparent mass timber commons in the former connector creates a social and academic heart, improves daylight and comfort, and supports long term adaptability with lower environmental impact.
Project Duration: New York City, USA. Adaptive reuse proposal for an existing H-plan public school building, emphasizing reuse of the masonry shell and a low-carbon mass-timber intervention.
Operation Flow: The school is organized around three learning modes, instruction, practice, and discussion or reflection, connected by a shared atrium. Daily circulation becomes a learning loop with study balconies, library niches, and informal steps for gathering. Transparent edges support supervision and collaboration, while flexible furniture allows spaces to shift from quiet study to group discussion and exhibitions. Daylight and passive visibility reduce reliance on artificial lighting and support a healthy, low energy environment.