Architecture Asia Special Issue - ARCASIA Awards for Architecture 2020

Shenzhen Mingde Academy, a new campus constructed for
teenagers to study and live together in this beautiful urban
enclave, is a remarkable but challenging project. It was intended
to bring together the activities, communications, and
hopes of the city’s distinctive young generation. However, the
individual buildings in different locations and with different
heights and structures, scattered across the over-500 meter
belt that encompasses the valley portion of the factory, are
incompatible with nature and with the campus design.
Initial efforts did not focus on the individual buildings. Instead,
the focus, while constructing the spatial narrative of the
campus, was on the relationship between the buildings and surrounding
geographical features. Ramps, linear corridors, overhead
walkways, small squares, and gardens provided a continuous
spatial experience extending from the residential section of the
original factory in the north to the large three-layered raw-cloth
warehouse in the south, constituting the most prominent natural
space within the Shenzen Mingde Academy. The outdoor spatial
structure also provides multiple options and possibilities through
various sporadic connections leading to the buildings. Reflections
on nature and space may be stimulated during leisurely walking
experiences. This unconventional and imaginative place in turn
shapes the bodies and minds of the young students. Construction
strategies, materials, and tectonics have been designed according
to existing geographic features, entailing appropriate
construction methods and considering the relationships of individual
buildings to the surroundings. The unique spatial qualities
of each spot revitalize and enrich the site’s history, integrating it
with the everyday existence of the contemporary campus.
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