Xi'an Vanke Lidesi Primary School
- Type
- China — Primary school
- Location
- Xixian New Area, Xi'an, China
- Area
- Site — 13,974.78 m²
Gross floor area — 16,055.1 m² - Role
- Scheme design, as part of the design team: teaching-building facades, teaching-area plans, sports-ground plan, submission documents and analysis diagrams
- Awards
- ICONIC AWARDS 2020 — Innovative Architecture, Winner
REARD Global Design Award (5th) — Bronze, Education · Architecture (Built)
Beijing Excellent Engineering Survey and Design Award 2021 — Public Buildings, Third Prize
Overview
A four-storey primary school in the centre of Xixian New Area, between Xi'an and Xianyang. The site measures about 70 m by 180 m; residential neighbourhoods enclose it on the north, east and west, while the south side faces a main road — the school's one public frontage to the city.
Colour is used as a wayfinding device across the teaching blocks, with red screens, stairs and a running track woven through the courtyards.
Red screens, stairs and a running track tie the teaching blocks together and help children find their way.
Site plan
Design strategy
- Four functional groups, each clearly defined and easy to manage, are staggered along the long, narrow site — keeping 25 m between groups and giving every classroom its required daylight.
- The linking corridors are not only circulation but places to play: every year group can reach them directly, and the city-facing side uses graded coloured glass for light, views and a lively elevation.
- With so little room, every opportunity is used for shared play space: sunken courtyards bring light and air to the canteen and sports hall below, and the ground-floor roof becomes an outdoor terrace connected by the corridors.
Analysis diagram
Section
Activity corridors, roofs and sunken courts.
Wider corridors, terraces at different levels and sunken courts turn circulation into places where children can play at every age.
Section
Section
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