ARCHSTUDIO completed new Children’s Education Institution in Chaoyang District of Beijing, composed of numerous bamboo strips for the ceiling, white structural library wall and many green-landscaped islands to create a sense of closeness and trigger learning activities. The institution -called Poly WeDo- is a new children’s education brand of Poly Culture Group, which aims at exploring and developing kids' gift and potentiality in music, and improving their comprehensive art accomplishment. 

View from the lobby

ARCHSTUDIO designed for their teaching space within Yongli International Shopping Centre in Workers’ Stadium North Road, Beijing. The architects aimed to solve while doing the design thinking is how to create an open, free and flexible modern teaching environment which breaks the limits of rigid structure and creates a feeling of closeness between children and the space.

Lobby with green infills 

The project covers the area cross 7 pillars of the shopping center on the first floor. The basic structure of the space is framework and shear wall, it enjoys an area of about 1000 square meters and has a basement with an area of 300 square meters. 

The architects removed the concrete block wall as much as possible to open up the closed space; a corridor is used to connect the classrooms to the public space. 

Private classroom

All the teaching spaces including music classroom, private classroom, reception hall, theatre and rehearsal room, etc. stretch out horizontally to the atrium of the shopping Centre. The slope shape roof extends to the wall and then the floor, which becomes the extension of classrooms and public space. 

The entire teaching space is like a translucent ''indoor village'', which presents spaces of variety of scales and texture according to different needs. It presents the kids an intimate, natural and cozy music playing and learning environment.

Reading area features wooden shelves with plants 

The studio introduces green landscape to soften the restriction of structural walls and to keep teaching get in touch with nature all the time. Part of the floor slab of the atrium is removed; the bamboo courtyard extends to the dancing classroom, Yoga classroom and office in the basement. The bamboo courtyard is the highlight of landscape of the entrance hall, and the shift point of traffic of the two floors. 

Office area looking to the circulation hall covered by wood

Gaps between walls of classrooms are used to create landscape area, thus ''outdoor'' space are formed in the indoor space. And the combination of plants and book shelves make kids’ reading coexist easily and naturally with rest.

Music classroom 

Music classrooms need to satisfy acoustical requirements of sound insulation and sound absorption. For the purpose of soundproof, three layers hollow glasses are used for the walls of music classrooms, wood grain aluminum grille and aluminum plate are used for the ceiling. In additional to soundproof treatment, the shape of the slope roof and the wavy surface of grille have the effect of audio mixing. 

Because of the limitation of height of the small theatre, the architects kept the original ceiling, only use some sound-absorbing wood panels on part of the wall, which heightens the space visually and achieves excellent acoustic effect as well.

Rehearsal hall 

Small theatre room 

Bamboo courtyard

Bamboo courtyard detail

Dancing classroom 

Dancing classroom 

Floor plan after renovation

Concept analysis diagram

Axonometric drawing 

Atrium section

Project facts

Project name: Poly WeDo Education Institution 

Design team: Han Wen-Qiang, Wang Ying, Li Yun-Tao 

Design company: ARCHSTUDIO 

Location: Chaoyang District, Beijing, China 

Project type: Educational 

Space area: 1300m2 

Design Time: 2015.10 - 2016.01 

Construction time: 2015.12 - 2016.03 

Author: Han Wen-Qiang

All images © Xia Zhi 

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