Conceived as a “city” for 400 pre-school children, this 216,624 square foot facility, including below grade parking and services, is located in Beijing’s Central Business District on the Third Ring Road, one subway stop south of Guo Mao, east of the Forbidden City. In this hyperactive urban context, a green building approach softens the environment for the toddlers, nursery, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten students, while conserving energy and capturing storm water for reuse, positing sustainability in generational as well as environmental terms.

Our goal was to create a memorable place that would stimulate students’ imagination, curiosity and awareness. Surrounded by a green roof that spirals up and around from southwest to northeast corners of the U-shaped court, the playground is sheltered from winter winds by a four-story classroom wing, and warmed as the sun enters the space from the south over the shoulder of the ascending mass of the gymnasium.