【学校】顺德一中德胜学校 / Gravity
中庭院落被分为科学、地理和艺术三个学科，每个学科都有一系列的室外房间和空间作为一个明确的主题。整个设计以互动学习和实验学习的概念为指导，知识被解释为各种物理形式，目的是启发学生对学习的渴望。
室外教室配备了精心雕琢、色彩丰富、视觉刺激的装置，可以抓住学生的好奇心，激发他们触摸、互动、检查、体验的欲望，最终在活跃和好玩的环境中学习基本知识。
Desheng No1. Middle School Shunde Secondary School, being one of the first-tier schools in southern China, has been in operation since 2001 catering for about 2,800 students. The campus consists of an array of multi-storey teaching blocks, forming a number of atrium spaces in between, which offered an opportunity to transform these spaces into a vibrant learning environment, and revitalize the school as a whole.
The atrium courtyards were assigned to three academic subjects of science, geography and art, with each features a series of outdoor rooms and spaces for a definite topic. The overall design was informed by the concept of interactive and experimental learning, with knowledge interpreted into a variety of physical forms aim to initiate students’desire to learn.
The outdoor classrooms are furnished with elaborately sculptured, color-rich and visually stimulating installations that would capture the curiosity of students, and trigger their desire to touch, to interact, to examine, to experience, and eventually, to learn fundamental knowledge in active and playful settings.
项目名称：顺德一中德胜学校
项目类型：教育场所
位置：中国广东
完成年份：2009
面积：12500m2
设计公司：Gravity
Project name: Desheng No1. Middle School Shunde Secondary School
Project type: Education places
Location: Guangdong,China
Completed: 2009
Area:12500m2
Design company: Gravity
更多：Gravity
Yi Zhong De Sheng Secondary School, Foshan, China, by Gravity Green. Is it possible to create an educational environment that integrates play and learning? Most people have been brought up in a traditional educational structure based on determination of rules, obedience, homogenization, collective thinking, and memorization of tedious knowledge. This is often accompanied by dull environments and rigid schedules. China’s state education system is often considered to be both rigorous and traditional, based on the philosophy of one-sidedly passing on knowledge from generation to generation. In reality, the quality of education China’s students receive varies greatly. Parents often invest a lot, depending on where they live and how ambitious their choice of school, making decent education a privilege.
Landscape masterplan of Yi Zhong De Sheng Secondary Image credit: Gravity Green.
Yi Zhong De Sheng Secondary School
But what is decent? We are beginning to witness advances in education, with innovative proposals related to integrative learning processes being implemented as an interesting option for a more effective and inspirational approach to education. Foshan, a city located in the province of Guangdong in China, is the location of the Yi Zhong De Sheng Secondary School, a 2009 campus enhancement project designed by Gravity Green Limited and Frank Yu and Claude Wong of Gravity Green Partnership architects. Gravity Green is a young studio with a clear vision of design called “Smart and Great”, which pursues comprehensive, sustainable, and responsive design solutions to highlight the uniqueness of each project.
Science Courtyard at Yi Zhong De Sheng Secondary School. Photo credit: Gravity Green.
The Learning Playscape The importance of play in learning and development from childhood to maturity is vital at each stage of life and in all its different forms, styles, and meanings. Children respond in a positive way when information is delivered in a cheerful space, in a non-academic environment or activity. In other words, learning should be an interactive, virtuous cycle in which children participate actively by integrating observation, exploration, intuition, and application of many other processes of human behavior stimulated by the natural environment.
Cubism courtyard at Yi Zhong De Sheng Secondary School. Photo credit: Gravity Green.
Therefore, the scenery of Yi Zhong De Sheng Secondary School was designed and remodeled into a huge encyclopedia, allowing students to explore and to interact in this massive outdoor classroom. As a result, Gravity Green received the Merit Award of the HKILA Design Awards for the Yi Zhong De Sheng renovation project. Related Articles:
The 10th anniversary of the school was an excuse to enhance the old-style open space and change the appearance of the school as a whole. The building has a built area of 12,500 square meters and is home to 2,800 students. The complex comprises a display of blocks with open spaces in between, which suggested an opportunity to transform these voids into dynamic and stimulating learning spaces to rejuvenate the complex as a whole.
Students enjoying themselves in a outdoor sketching session. Photo credit: Gravity Green.
Themed Courtyards The courtyards were organized and selected to depict three academic subjects: physics, geography, and art. From these broad fields, complex topics were chosen, such as the Universal Law of Gravity, Law of Energy Conservation, Energy Generation, Kinetic Energy Mounds or Wind Farms, and the Law of Gravity and Demography. These laws and principles were then transformed cleverly into Isaac Newton’s Gravity Law Garden, the Geo-map Courtyard, and the Energy Generation Law Garden.
Wind frm at Yi Zhong De Sheng Secondary School. Photo credit: Gravity Green.
Garden of Geography with cubes in different sizes representing the populations. Photo credit: Gravity Green.
Using a Variety of Shapes and Colours The themed gardens and installations use a variety of shapes and elements (color cubes as benches, colorful 3d typography as signage, etc.) and all these elements are integrated harmoniously with natural elements and textures. The purpose of using these pieces is to capture the curiosity of students and provoke their desire to touch, interact, examine, and experience by their own will. Multi-functional Spaces These courtyards are not only used for educational purposes, they are also a hotspot for social interaction among students who spend their breaks and spare time relaxing in the grass, close to the trees, bushes, ornamental grasses, and flowers that beautifully embellish the school. A mixture of trees offers much-desired shade during hot summer days, creating a perfect atmosphere for contemplation and study. The design studio selected natural wooden materials to contrast with the concrete tiles placed in the courtyards to suggest different areas within the public space.
Cubes of nation imprinted with basic geographic information such as coordinates, areas, and time zones. Photo credit: Gravity Green.
Garden of Geography overview. Photo credit: Gravity Green.
Opening up Possibilities A playful learning space opens up possibilities for individuals to become intrinsically motivated to define for themselves what to learn, how to deal with change, and to discover, moved by their own curiosity and desire. This enhancement project is an example of how this bottom line can be translated conceptually in the spheres of architecture and landscape, and shows the positive impact of integrated clever design.
Yi Zhong De Sheng Secondary School. Photo credit: Gravity Green.
Full Project Credits: Project name: Yi Zhong De Sheng Secondary School Location: Foshan, China Client: Deming Education Investment Company Limited Landscape Architect: Gravity Green Limited Architecture Firm: Gravity Partnership Limited Design date: 2009 Completion date: 2010 Site area: Approximately 12,500 square meters Awards: The Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects, Merit Award: Overseas Landscape Project 2012 Show on Google Maps Recommended Reading:
Landscape Architecture: An Introduction by Robert Holden
Landscape Architecture, Fifth Edition: A Manual of Environmental Planning and Design by Barry Starke
Article written by Claudia Canales Return to Homepage