“We would like to take this opportunity to use the academy to activate the community culture. Our proposal, on the one hand, involves repairing the existing urban conditions, and on the other hand, it aims to sort out and rediscover the valuable cultural fabric, with which the community will thrive in the future. These two new schools together will weave out an ideal public space and active urban life.”
— Meng Yan
The 250m × 500m site is surrounded by residential areas, industrial zones, and urban villages—a quintessential Longgang streetscape. Hakka culture, with its core settlement typology—the walled village (Weiwu)—embodies communal cohesion through strong territoriality and layered courtyards. Drawing inspiration from this tradition, we reinterpreted the spatial logic of walled villages in contemporary architectural language.
The Weilong School responds to the massive scale and excessive verticality resulting from rapid urban expansion around the site with a continuous horizontal volume inspired by the Hakka Round House. By increasing density near the boundary of the site, an enclosed volume of the teaching building is created which releases space for a rich and spacious landscape like a Lingnan garden within the school. It provides primary and middle school students with an outdoor space for exploration and creativity. The horizontal stacking enclave of the teaching building and shared program space at ground level together form an arcade that opens the edge of the site to the city. A comprehensive interface facilitating the interaction between the school and community is established via this pathway open up to the community along the meandering edge of the site.
The site of Weiwu School has an irregular shape, surrounded by high-rises. The floor plan of an irregular polygon with circular inner shape maximize the use of the site. The design strategy responds to the high-density environment while aiming to stitch together fragmented spatial textures and reintegrate the cultural and spiritual core of the community. While emphasizing the enclosed upper levels, it shared the ground floor between the school and the community. The sports field at the center also serves as a stage for large community events, enhancing community cohesion. Inspired by Hakka traditional houses with site specific needs in mind, the façade with rich architectural language addresses issues of shading, ventilation, as well as the balance between privacy and openness in high-density school buildings.
Client: Public Works Bureau of Longgang District, Shenzhen
Location: Wulian Community, Longgang District, Shenzhen
Design: 2021-2022
Construction: 2022-2024
Principal Architects: Meng Yan, Wen Ting
Competition (Pre-qualification) Team: Sun Pengcheng, Huang Jiahong, Zhang Chaoxian
Competition Team: Huang Jiahong, Zhang Chaoxian, Zeng Yi, Yu Shiyao, Zhu Hongrui, Liao Guotong, Weng Hua, Zhou Yuerong, Gao Yunrui, Song Baolin, Sun Jiawei, Chen Jing | Gong Yidan (Community Building) | Ma Xiying, Pu Jinyan (landscape) | Chen Yining, Zhang Hui, Zhang Xinyu (Internship)
Photographer: TAL
Weilong School
Site Area: 31,567 m²
Floor Area: 73,511 m²
Building Storey: 5 Floors above-ground, 1 Floor underground
Building Height: 24.0m
Building Design Development:
Project General Manager: Zhang Haijun
Project Manager: Zeng Yi
Team: Zhu Hongrui, Gao Yunrui, Chen Jing, Dong Wenhan | Yao Xiaowei (Technical Director) | Zhang Xuejuan, Gao Yufeng, Li Guanda, Ma Xiying, Pu Jinyan, Wang Tingxin (Landscape) | Deng Tingfang, Lin Yanyu, He Yutong, He Jiamin (Interior) | Liao Fuhua, Xu Zhihao, Tan Yongxian (Internship) | Gong Yidan, Coming Home Enterprises & Xiangtian Chuangwen (Community Building)
Collaborators:
Structural Consultant: H&J International Co., Ltd.
(CD) Structure/ MEP (Construction Document): Shenzhen Architecture Design General Research Institute (SZAD)
Interior Development: Nan Jing Shang Ze Design Co., Ltd.
Landscape Development: Shenzhen Sen Shi Jie Landscape and Planning Co., Ltd.
Acoustic consultant: Shenzhen KEDE Co., Ltd.
BIM: Shenzhen Qianhai Future City Technology Co., Ltd.
Kitchen Consultant: Anda Kitchen Design Co., Ltd
Green Building: Shenzhen Zhong Ji Green Building Co.,Ltd
Graphic Design: SURE Design
Contractor: Guangdong Lianfu Construction Engineering Co., Ltd
Concrete construction: Wuhan Wanshan Qingshui Construction Engineering Co., Ltd
Interior and Landscape Construction: Shi Dai Zhuang Shi Co., Ltd
Construction Agency: China Resources (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd
Weiwu School
Site Area: 10,115.3 m²
Floor Area: 25,836 m²
Building Storey: 5 Floors above-ground, 1 Floor underground
Building Height: 25.5m
Building Design Development:
Project Manager, Project Architect: Weng Hua
Team: Zhang Chaoxian, Zhang yingyuan, Huang Jiahong, Liao Guotong (Architecture) | Zhang Xuejuan, Li Guanda, Wang Tingxin, Gao Yufeng (Landscape) | He Jiamin, Lin Yanyu, Deng Tingfang (Interior) | Zhang Hui, Li Peiying, Guo Anran, Hu Xiaomai, Huang Xianwen, Zhang Yipei, Tan Yongxian (Internship) | Gong Yidan, Coming Home Enterprises & Xiangtian Chuangwen (Community Building)
Technical Director: Yao Xiaowei
Collaborators:
Structural Consultant: H&J International Co., Ltd.
(CD) Structure/ MEP (Construction Document): Shenzhen TIANHUA Architectural Design Co., Ltd.
Landscape Development: ShenZhen Paier Landscape Planning And Design Consulting Co., Ltd.
Interior Development: JNJW Architectural Design
Graphic Design: SURE Design
Construction Agency: Shenzhen Vanke City Construction Management Co., Ltd.
Learn more:
The “New Hakka Academy” is about to be completed. 2024.9.29 URBANUS都市实践
金敏华. 新客家的书院梦. 深圳特区报 2021.10.29 (A08)
URBANUS wins “Towards A New Campus the Third Action – Hakka School Rebirth” competition for the design of two schools. 2021.10.25
