Middle School and Kindergarten Compound | Guillermo Bosque

  A07-06 kindergarten is located in JiaDing new town district，contingent to A07-05 plot intended as primary school.

The plot is rectangular, connected to A07-05 on its north and west sides, and follows the shape of the waterway on its south side, separated from it by a narrow green area. The east side of the plot is the only street façade, giving access to Chongxin road.

The building consists of 15 classrooms plus the required areas by the requirement set by the Shanghai City education bureau and additional multifunction room to arrive to a compromise between the requirements and the much larger GFA allowance of the plot.

The volume of the kindergarten is a compact one, closer to the north limit of the plot, so as to liberate the maximum open space on the south, where the exposure to sun light and to the green belt and waterway are optimum for the placement of the playgrounds.

The project maximizes the building footprint in order to lower the number of floors to just two to reach the GFA. This is due to the fact that the main users will be small aged kids, and therefore the vertical circulations should be reduced to the minimum possible.

The main entrance is located on the east façade, along Chongxin road, which is the only road giving access to the plot.

From there, a covered area and a circular courtyard serve as a funnel shaped buffer area for the kids and parents during the rush hours, protected from the traffic and the rain.

To avoid interrupting the normal circulation of vehicles along崇信 road during the drop-off and pick-up time, an internal road has been projected along the entrance façade facilitating a quick drop-off and providing as well of 22 parking spots and several bicycle parking.

Due to the initial requirement of the client of developing A07-06 along with A06-05, and because the land area on A07-06 is much tighter than in A07-05, the inner roads have been devised sharing the section of the road that runs between the two buildings, actually placing it on the lands of A07-05.

The starting point for the layout of the building was to maximize the exposure to light and towards the open playground for all the classrooms. Therefore the classes were grouped into three groups of three, mostly corresponding to each lever, and placed parallel to the direction of the waterway and the green belt along it on the south, guaranteeing a much better view. North to it there is a buffer area containing a covered playground and the activity rooms.

An abstract diagonal line projects outwards on the entrance area creating a powerful image for the gate, and articulating a circular courtyard that serves as the waiting area and drop off of the kids. From there crosses the whole building separating the kids area from the administrative and service areas, and finally extending itself on the contiguous plot A07-05 on the landscape, exceeding the limits of the plot and uniting both the kindergarten and the projected elementary school into a one unity. The circular entrance courtyard of the kindergarten and the playground and inner courtyard of the future elementary school will serve as the two tension points balancing each extreme of the line.

Has been proposed to be placed on the lands of A07-05 elementary school, firstly due to the impossibility of placing it on A07-06 with the required safety separation from the kindergarten building, and secondly because of the considerable allowance of GFA on A07-05.

The exterior design of the building simply follows the shape of the floor layout, with clean flat surfaces that emphasize the diagonal planes which articulate the spaces.

The south facades are mostly glazed surfaces allowing a great view over the green areas. The circular courtyard is also enclosed by glass, with vertical shading panels on the second floor.

Exterior materials are projected to be simple mortar cladding, painted on dim colors except for the main diagonal wall that crosses the whole building. This will be the only element to be of a characteristic different color all along its surface both on the interior and on the exterior sections, so that users of the building are continuously conscious of its presence.