Zhangpu No. 2 Middle School

Project Location

With economic development and the continuous rise in residents’ income levels, and in light of Kunshan City’s specific educational resource needs, Zhangpu No. 2 Middle School is being newly constructed on a site located to the west of Jinshang Road, north of Airport Road, and south of Hanlin Road.

Located on the northeast side of the site near a body of water, the area boasts a pleasant landscape. The planned land use covers 50,712.79 square meters, with a total floor area of 43,245.03 square meters. The project will feature a 13‑classroom secondary school, a green space ratio of 35.2%, and a floor area ratio of 0.78.

Every distinctive campus building embodies the designer’s considerations of aesthetics, functional usability, and structural integrity, and its design and interior fit‑out must adhere to the overarching architectural standards.

The design begins with an analysis of the school’s functions and scale, identifying and organizing each teaching unit and spatial module. Subsequently, the individual educational spaces are arranged and positioned in a rational and efficient manner, taking into account their specific requirements for daylighting, natural illumination, ventilation, and orientation.

This project comprises a multi-purpose building, teaching buildings (Buildings 1 and 2), an arts building, a dining hall, and ancillary structures.

Overall Layout

In architectural ensembles, the emphasis lies not on any particular building form but on the set of rules that govern their relationships. This is particularly evident in the ancient towns of the Jiangnan region. Streets that follow the natural flow of water serve as the foundation of this order, with pedestrian scale as the basic unit, and buildings repeated one after another.

The subtle interplay of individual differences, seamlessly integrated within the overarching framework of order, is the very essence of tradition. At its heart lies a carefully orchestrated sequence of courtyards, and the scale and sequential relationships that emerge between them—relationships that may well be even more crucial. It is these reciprocal connections that generate an invisible pull, truly engaging the space’s central protagonist: the human being.

The project’s overall architectural layout is organized according to Suzhou’s distinctive water‑based spatial configuration, complemented by traditional garden‑style landscape design, thereby creating a rich array of nodes and spatial experiences.

According to the traffic impact assessment, all vehicles will enter via the secondary entrance, ensuring no disruption to internal school traffic; the main entrance will serve exclusively as an access point for non-motorized vehicles and pedestrians. Within 500 meters of the main entrance, two or more bus routes pass through, providing highly convenient public transportation.

Aerial view

The sports field is situated along the city’s main thoroughfare to provide a noise barrier. The cafeteria is located on the southwest side of the site to minimize the impact of odors and cooking fumes on the school.

These complex, urban‑aligned structures create a rich array of courtyard spaces. The entire system is open and interactive, transforming the campus into a cohesive whole where connections can emerge at any moment.

Design Concept

Main entrance perspective

The school’s main entrance features a U-shaped, embracing plaza layout designed to facilitate and guide pedestrian flow. The entrance plaza is clad in vertically staggered wooden louvers, which, under the sun, cast ever‑changing patterns of light and shadow across the corridor spaces.

The building features a gray metal‑tile roof that harmonizes with its white-and-red striped façade, while its volumetric composition is articulated through interwoven forms, blending white with red and red with white in an organic, dynamic arrangement.

Art Building, People’s View

The art building and the sports building feature numerous cantilevered platforms that, under the shifting play of sunlight, cast ever‑changing shadows on the façades—evoking a sense of temporal flux while simultaneously suggesting a suspended, timeless atmosphere.

The architectural form is predominantly in a modern style that combines flat and sloping planes, with a vibrant primary color palette serving as the overall hue, punctuated by lively accents. To create a cohesive campus environment, the design integrates architecture, interiors, and landscape from the perspectives of spatial organization, man-made elements, and natural features, aiming to foster an immersive educational space.

Experimental Building Pedestrian View

The riverfront façade features an array of columns, lending a more solemn and dignified character that befits the school’s ethos. All the building’s staircases are left exposed, with meticulous attention to proportion, making them a striking visual highlight of the façade.

Middle school curricula are typically tightly packed. For both students and teachers, spatial efficiency is of paramount importance. During the brief 10-minute breaks between classes, they need to recharge and prepare for the next lesson. To create an efficient flow of transitions between classrooms, the outer ring features continuous, well-defined circulation paths, while the inner ring adopts a more fluid, open‑ended layout, allowing spaces that prioritize efficiency to coexist with areas that foster engagement and exploration.

After classes end, the once-quiet campus instantly comes alive. The school boasts sports facilities such as a soccer field and a basketball court, where students not only gain knowledge but also develop their physical health, character, and intellect.

Indoor space

“Each land nurtures its own people.” The school has adopted the philosophy and goal of building a culturally grounded institution, cultivating students through its curriculum, and pursuing distinctive development.

The primary focus of campus design is to meet the functional requirements of teaching while creating a more comfortable spatial experience for users. Whether in classroom or public‑space design, efforts should be made to minimize the use of luminaires that generate glare.

Taking modern teaching methods into account, the interior spaces are meticulously designed for sound insulation. Music and dance classrooms, among others, employ sound-absorbing materials to create a noise-reducing environment, ensuring that no interference arises during instruction.

A pleasant campus environment stems from a holistic, integrated experience of the surroundings, rather than relying solely on architectural form. With each slab‑type building completed, a welcoming environment emerges simultaneously in its front and rear, on its sides, and both inside and out—this has become the project’s design aspiration, going beyond the fulfillment of basic functional requirements.

Partial design drawings

Facade of the Comprehensive Building

Building facade

Facade of the Arts Building

Dining Hall Building

First-floor plan of the multi-purpose building

Second-floor plan of the multi-purpose building

Fourth-Floor Plan of the Comprehensive Building

Project Location: Kunshan City, Suzhou

Design Date: 2019

Land area: 50,712.79㎡

Total floor area: 43,245.03 m²

Construction Entity: Kunshan Xingnan Construction Co., Ltd.

Project Type: Educational Building

Scope of Design: Architectural conceptual design and construction documentation. Interior design, landscape design

Project Manager: Wen Wei

Scheme Design: Xu Peng, Chen Xiao, Xu Hongwei, Gu Jing

Architectural Design: Wang Jing, Xu Fang, Qiu Xuhui, Li QiYang, Lu Jing, Pu Bingchu, Xu Jin

Structural Design: Wang Ying, Zhang Yan, Meng Rui, Zhang Hao, Zhang Hao, Pan Kai, Feng Shuai

Mechanical and Electrical Design: Feng Youfeng, Yun Le, He Yuqing, Jiang Jiankang, Wang Lan, Feng Xiaofang, Dong Chaoyang, Chen Weilou, Luo Liang, Wang Jianli, Fan Bin, Qian Zhi

Human view of the dining building