East Shanghai High School Senior Division

Shanghai High School is one of the most prestigious middle schools in Shanghai, and the construction of its new campus has naturally got much attention, hoping that it could be a model for campus construction in some ways. The project site is located in the urban public green corridor of Shanghai Lin-gang Special Area, with one longer side unfolding along the road, while two sides facing the water. Three sides of the site are connected to the landscape, providing favorable environmental conditions. As a fully residential 48-class high school with a plot ratio of 1. 2, there are a number of questions that need to be answered from the very beginning of the design process: First, how to integrate the campus into the urban public space system as a participant in shaping the urban environment; Second, how to bring out the possibility of relieving stress from efficient and intense study life in terms of spatial design; Third, how to create a traditional and unique spatial language and experience for the new campus. Finally, a dualistic narrative mode with “city” and “island” as the main body has been chosen, trying to give responding strategies in contrastive, intertextual and structural tension. One City, One Island: complementary campus spatial structure The first thing that the design has to face is the relationship between the campus and the city, with the campus unfolding along the main road of the city on one hand while being in the middle of the urban public green corridor on the other hand. Therefore, the design aims to create a distinctive urban image for educational buildings without interrupting the continuity of the green corridor, to guarantee the integrity of the campus’ operation while keep the possibility to share the campus facilities with the city. This complementary desire led to a complementary campus spatial structure: the strategy of One City, One Island gave a holistic solution. The Longmen Building is the main building with historical significance of the old campus of Shanghai High School, thus being transplanted to the new campus as a cultural symbol. The new campus has a plot ratio of 1. 2, which is not too low, and if it were laid out in a normal way, the entire site would be occupied evenly, and the urban public green corridor would inevitably be interrupted by the building. Therefore, the design made a decision which went in the opposite direction, to further gather the construction capacity to the side along the road, and to superimpose the living density through composite functional settings, creating a highly intensive micro-study City. The released floor area ratio has been combined with the demand of sports facilities, shaping a vibrant green sports island by means of landscape. The Island is separated from the City by an inland river, connected to the City by bridges, and meanwhile extends to the urban park on the east side, which creates the possibility of time-sharing with the city in physical space. The Island is integrated with the City during campus use, and into the urban park during shared use with the city. The Island feeds back to the city as an infrastructure and becomes part of the urban green public space. Within City, On Island: Shaping the scene of discipline and release Discipline and release are two sides of education, and switching between the two requires a sense of spatial ritual. As a result, completely different spatial qualities are presented in the Study City and the Green Island. Within the Study City, grouped courtyards and bridges of different heights connect various spaces, embodying rigorous sequences and efficient functions everywhere. On the Green Island, there is a suburban atmosphere, and moving freely in green spaces brings a rare sense of relaxation under the pressure of high-intensity study. The Study City consists of three parts: the main teaching area in the middle, the art complex area in the west, and the living accommodation area in the east. The main teaching building, also known as the new Longmen Building, is organized around an atrium and two courtyards which separately combined with the library and the lecture hall. The art complex building, consisting of the theater, the art and music classrooms, and the communication center, is organized around a plaza which can be an extended outdoor stage for the theater. Between the main teaching building and the art complex building is a semi-enclosed art courtyard. The living accommodation area consists of the boys’ dormitory, the girls’ dormitory and the cafeteria. The boys’ and girls’ dormitories each have their own courtyards with different characters, while a sunken courtyard that serves as the entrance space to the cafeteria connects the living area to the main teaching building. Meanwhile, five bridges of different forms connect the three buildings at different heights, making them a mapping of the complete city. On the other side of the campus, on the other side of the river which stretches across the campus, after crossing the connecting bridge, the Sport Island appears in the form of a gentle rolling hill. The Island wraps a series of sports spaces such as basketball, badminton, swimming, table tennis, etc. in a landscaped space, while at the same time setting up a sports field and a sports trail on top of the rolling green roof. The sports trail is connected to the running track of the standard sports ground as well. The sweeping topography, low height and naturalized environment make the Island a free enclave and a pressure-releasing gathering place in the campus. Duet of City and Island: contrast of space, color and material As a set of contrasting existence, the City and the Island are expected to display the dramatic spatial tension between the two which is caused by their differences. Therefore, in terms of design language, the Study City and the Green Island also show their own unique processing principles. The “City” uses a geometric orthogonal system, matching with warm earth tones, to reflect classic modern space characteristics with warmth, while the “Island” uses flowing curved surfaces, matching with metallic plain colors, to reflect the characteristics of returning to nature and integrating with nature. ▼，Duet of City and Island In Study City, the geometric orthogonal system is a constantly repeated language, appearing as a regular modulus from plan to façade, emphasizing the regularity and logic of learning and living. However, there are also some interventions of metallic heterogeneous spaces combined with entrances and transportation spaces, which suggest certain special coordinates and become intruders of the grid. While on the Green Island, free lines and curved surfaces are the theme, where the space mimics nature and the paths area not limited, providing choices in a free context as much as possible. Similarly, in terms of color and material selection, the Study City and the Green Island also perform in different ways. In Study City, thicker colors have been mostly used. A series of warm earth tones such as brown, dark red, light orange, beige, etc. has been used on the façade, combined with ceramic panels and GRC curtains, interspersed with some silver and bronze metal materials. While on the Green Island, plain colors are mostly used, except for the roof covered with green vegetation. The exposed façade is made of uniform silver-white aluminum panels, outlining the cross section of the island. ▼，Study City in series of warm earth tones Only when students and faculty move in truly starts the “Island City Life”. In fact, it is a life that wanders between discipline and release, order and freedom, self-sufficiency and sharing, concentration and diversity. Students shuttle between the City and the Island, “going out of the City, getting on the Island”, “leaving the Island, entering the City”, bringing a certain sense of ritual and drama to their daily life. The city, the courtyards, the bridge, and the island will become a long-lasting spatial imprint in the minds of the students and teachers who would ever have studied and lived here. ▼，Bird ‘s-eye view