Yuanbo Teaching Building

Press Kit

Unique Properties

It is a renovation project in Zhuhai. Set in the center of a university campus, the old building's dilapidated appearance detracted from the beautiful campus landscape. Now the building has been transformed into the most popular and dynamic space on the campus. Different activities such as exhibitions, performances, and even fashion shows were set in motion by the renovated spaces. The design concept of encouraging communication met with needs of new educational concepts.

Dimensions & Packaging

Original Building Area: 13,532 square meters
Current Building Area: 13,762 square meters
By creating mezzanine space inside the original classroom, a new cafe space of 230 square meters was created.
Height: 24 meters

Tags

Renovation, Campus, Roof garden, Corridor loop, Natural light, Brick, Landscape

Production Technology

Facade: Dry-hanging brick wall system offers a rapid way to create a new facade and keeps the heat out. New window casing system helps prevent direct sunlight.
Roof: By a continuous belt of red plastic track, green grass, and yellow wood, this negative space occupied by equipment has been transformed into a perfect exercise space with a nice view.
Atrium: A glass roof was put above the center open- air cube. Stairs were reconnected inside. Now it is the exhibition and show space for students.

Design Challenge

Landscape design was the most challenging part. There were many trees on site without accurate locations on the original drawings. We managed to keep all of the trees and built some terraces surrounding them. The drawings had to be done precisely on site since the roots of the trees may influence the design. Lighting system was also not easy. We needed to find electricity supply and bore holes carefully on the original hand rails to hide our lighting system.

Project Duration

The project was completed in May 2020 in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China. It is part of the Zhuhai Campus of the Beijing Normal University. Zhuhai is an important city in China's Greater Bay Area.

Operation Flow

Besides creating spaces for activities, the renovation also aimed to improve the sustainable performance. The design improved the heat and light environment of the building. Facade and window casing system prevent direct sunlight into the classrooms. With the help of ventilation software simulation, new openings in the walls of the atrium create natural wind indoors. The new triangle scuttles on the platform lead sunlight inside the dark entrance space. All these measures help save energy.

Research

After China's rapid urbanization, renovation of existing common buildings has been a leading trend. Our research and practice aims at finding a balance between meeting new needs and saving costs. Careful inspections of original structure and equipment were made to decide which part of the building can be kept and reused. Post-use evaluation with students and teachers helped define the needs of the users. Monitoring of physical environment and software simulation helped with saving energy.

Inspiration

The old building consisted of 15 separate cubes with two courtyards. The renovation respected this character. A continuous loop of stairs and corridors connects the roofs, courtyards and indoor spaces tightly together, creating opportunities for exchanging ideas and engendering social interactions. The two courtyards were transformed into a square one and a round one. A resting stage under an original tree, an outdoor exhibition space, and a round outdoor stage were created.

Image Credits

Main Image: Photographer: Changheng ZHAN
Image #1: Photographer: Qingshan WU
Image #2: Photographer: Qingshan WU
Image #3: Photographer: Qingshan WU
Image #4: Photographer: Qingshan WU

Patents

Architectural Design & Research Institute Tsinghua University CO. LTD.

Colors of Yuanbo Teaching Building