The Weave Ilé Ẹ̀kọ́ by Yuchen Qiu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Idẹ A' Design Award in Àpẹẹrẹ Ìkọ́lé, Ilé àti Ètò Competition Category.
IdẹÌkọ́lé· 2026
The Weave Ilé Ẹ̀kọ́
by Yuchen Qiu
Client: Studio Liminal
Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Idẹ A' Design Award Winner in Ìkọ́lé Category
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The Design
About The Weave Ilé Ẹ̀kọ́
The Weave jẹ́ ilé ẹ̀kọ́ tí a ṣẹ̀dá nípasẹ̀ àtúnlò aláṣàmúbọ́ra ti ilé ìwé gbogbogbò olókùúta aláwòrán H ní ìlú New York, USA. A yọ asopọ̀ àárín kúrò, a sì fi àtiríọ̀mù onígi ńlá àti gíláàsì onírin kékeré rọ́pò rẹ̀, èyí tí ó dá àgbàlá ẹ̀kọ́ àjọpín sílẹ̀. A ṣètò ẹ̀kọ́ gẹ́gẹ́ bí àyíká ìkọ́ni, ìdánrawò, àti ìjíròrò tàbí àṣàrò. Àgbàlá náà so àwọn ọ̀nà wọ̀nyí pọ̀ pẹ̀lú ìrìnkiri tí ó hàn kedere, àwọn ẹ̀gbẹ́ ìkẹ́kọ̀ọ́, àti àwọn àtẹ̀gùn ìpéjọpọ̀. Ìmọ́lẹ̀ ọ̀sán àti ìtọ́sọ́nà tí ó ṣe kedere ń ran ìlò ojoojúmọ́ lọ́wọ́. Àtúnlò ìkarahun olókùúta náà àti kíkọ́ pẹ̀lú igi ń dín kárbọ́nù inú ohun èlò àti pàǹtírí ìkọ́lé kù.
The Recognition
About the Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Idẹ A' Design Award
The Weave Ilé Ẹ̀kọ́ jẹ́ olùborí Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Idẹ A' Design Award, ìdánimọ̀ olókìkí gan-an tí a fún àwọn àwòṣe tó tayọ tí wọ́n yàtọ̀ nípasẹ̀ ìṣẹ̀dá, àrékérekè àti ọgbọ́n inú. Àwọn olùborí Idẹ jẹ́ àwọn ohun èlò tó ní ìjáfáfá gan-an tí wọ́n sì ní ìṣẹ̀dá tó yani lẹ́nu tí wọ́n ń ṣe ẹ̀rí ìrírí gbígbòòrò, ìrònú àti ọgbọ́n àwọn olùṣàwòṣe wọn. A retí pé The Weave Ilé Ẹ̀kọ́ yóò jẹ́ ohun tí a kà sí gidigidi, tí a gbóríyìn fún tí a sì nífẹ̀ẹ́, tó jẹ́ ti ọ̀jáfáfá lọ́nà tó ṣe pàtàkì tó sì ní ìmúṣẹ̀dá tuntun. Àwòṣe tó borí Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Idẹ A' Design Award yìí ń kó àwọn ọ̀nà tó dára jùlọ nínú iṣẹ́ ọnà, sáyẹ́ǹsì, àwòṣe àti ìmọ̀-ẹ̀rọ jọ, ó sì tayọ nítorí àfiyèsí rẹ̀ sí àwọn àlàyé kékeré. The Weave Ilé Ẹ̀kọ́ ń tẹ́ àwọn ohun tí a nílò lọ́rùn lọ́nà àgbàyanu, ó ń fọwọ́ kan àwọn ìfẹ́ inú, ó ń gbà ọkàn ó sì ń fa ìfẹ́ láti mọ̀ mọ́ra.
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.
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