GWP竣工 | 临风展翼，载梦启航——临安风之谷国际营地
△临安风之谷国际营地插画
Lin’an“Valley of Wind“ International Camp © GWP Architects
With continuous improvement in the standard of living during recent years, Chinese families have become to pay more in-depth and more specific attention to essential-qualities-oriented (EQO) education. The cultivation of “physical wellness” and “aesthetic taste” leads to development in children’s and teenagers’ nature and improvement of their senses in culture. More and more parents and the society pay attention to it. High-quality outdoor activity space is proactively beneficial to the process of cultivating students’ characters and personalities, but such space is seldom found in traditional school designs. Meanwhile, after having experienced shelter-in-place and long-term remote learning in the pandemic era, parents and students have had new ideas regarding both indoor and outdoor learning spaces. Therefor, It is particularly important that how architects make creative solutions to the learning spaces through project types and design research.
△临安风之谷国际营地 / 拍摄：本质映像
Lin’an“Valley of Wind“ International Camp / Photo by Nature Image
Lin’an“Valley of Wind“ International Camp is located in Changhua of Lin’an District, west to Hangzhou. The camp is located on an open site among the well-preserved natural grassy hills. The surrounding natural features are a unique advantage for outdoor exploration on the camp. However, the site is also very tight to hold all functions of a school, the proposed FAR more than typical educational campus, and the building density must be boosted.
△项目区位
Project Location © GWP Architects
Faced with these uncommon conditions for design, GWP team did not rush to start designing, and yet dived into research and analyses of teenagers’ education and psychological characters. With consideration of the camp’s unique model of education like a “Summer Camp”, the team obtained a more accurate understanding of teenagers’ expectations for forms of and spaces in educational buildings. Children and teenagers are experiencing rapid growth in their natures and personalities, and thus they possess rich variety of imagination and strong desire of exploration toward the surrounding space and environment. Therefore, sufficient space must be provided to contain their energies and their interests in nature, while proper guidance should also be embedded in design features to indicate aesthetic elements and establish an atmosphere encouraging dialogue and communication.
△临安风之谷国际营地 / 拍摄：本质映像
Lin’an“Valley of Wind“ International Camp / Photo by Nature Image
User analysis helped the team better define the concept of “outdoor activity camp” and the essential design features of the indoor and outdoor spaces for this model of learning. By taking the“paper plane”which can carry the dreams and ambitions of the young students as inspiration of the building form, the design scheme emphasizes changes and uniqueness in building volumes, architectural forms, spatial circulations, and material selections, in order to inspire young students’imagination and spirit of exploration in different indoor or outdoor spatial modes so that they can achieve new knowledge and personal development.
△形体生成分析
Form Generation Analysis © GWP Architects
To better assist the students to adapt to this new model of learning, while also satisfy the diversified interests and personalized paths of development for each student, GWP team integrated the architectural forms of various heights into the waving hills in the background, creating an intimate sense of nature for the students. The building facades also have a rich range of variances. The contrasts between the white and wood colors as well as between the vertical grills and the transparent glasses can both lead the students to more vivid and profound experience.
△建筑格栅与玻璃 / 拍摄：本质映像
Building Material / Photo by Nature Image
Through architectural spaces that are both open and flexible, dynamic indoor and outdoor learning in different scenarios is made possible. On top of traditional programming of functions, the dormitory area and the classroom area of the camp are in an organic dialogue on each level, creating clear and convenient paths of circulation that allows teaching and learning to occur in different areas and different buildings, or even at each corner of the campus. Each functional area can also be efficiently connected to guarantee the safety of on-campus activities.
△临安风之谷国际营地 / 拍摄：本质映像
Lin’an“Valley of Wind“ International Camp / Photo by Nature Image
The landscape design echoes design features of the roofs and makes full use of existing conditions of the site, breaking the boundaries between indoor and outdoor educational spaces while also turning the site into a diverse landscape field that combines views, leisure, communication, and activities altogether. The landscape enables the teaching and learning to flow between indoor and outdoor spaces smoothly.
In addition, under the circumstance of an extremely tight site, three spacious rooftop gardens have been created on top of the building volumes as educational spaces and vertical extension of the campus’s landscape. These roof gardens can be stages for group activities as well as vehicles of spontaneous activities and diverse events for the students.
In the process of design development, GWP team collaborated and communicated closely with different professional consultants on technical issues, making sure that in the practice of design each key quantified technical figure can be delivered accurately in the complete project. This practice did not only improve efficiency during construction, but also ensures the quality control, successfully realizing the goal of “Empowering practice by technology, Controlling quality by management”. Especially via introducing green building design standards, sustainable technologies, as well as design features regarding epidemic prevention and wellness, the completed project may help students better learn and recognize the value of good natural environment and the significance of sustainable development, providing first-hand and sensible learning materials for an improved outdoor learning experience in the post-pandemic era.
△临安风之谷国际营地夜景 / 拍摄：本质映像
Lin’an“Valley of Wind“ International Camp / Photo by Nature Image
The Valley of Wind International Camp always emphasizes the prioritized status of students themselves, whether in the model of teaching and learning or in the architecture of the school, making efforts to create architecture of educational significance and hoping all the students can truly “release their dreams and grow with happiness”.
△总平面图 Master Plan © GWP Architects
△ 首层平面图 Ground Floor Plan © GWP Architects
△ 二层平面图 2nd Floor Plan © GWP Architects
△ 三层平面图 3rd Floor Plan © GWP Architects
△ 四层平面图 4th Floor Plan © GWP Architects
△ 立面图 Elevations © GWP Architects
△ 立面图 Elevations © GWP Architects
△ 剖面图 Sections © GWP Architects