Ambitious Nanhai Guicheng Jingui High School maintains and simple rhythmic architecture of order and poetry
Siming Wu

Ambitious Nanhai Guicheng Jingui High School maintains and simple rhythmic architecture of order and poetry

20 Mar 2023  •  News  •  By Allie Shiell

As part of a larger urban planning project to provide improved and increased infrastructure to the growing urban centre of Foshan, Guicheng, China, the new Nanhai Guicheng Jingui High School by Atelier cnS is a 90,000 square meter campus designed to meet the needs of 3,000 teachers and students. As an ordering principle, the architecture features pure forms for the large-span spaces, including the swimming centre's concrete arches and the gymnasium's repetitive X-shaped columns. The result is a simple rhythmic architecture of order and poetry.

photo_credit Siming Wu
Siming Wu

Located on a site that provides direct connections to the city centre via two main roads, the school complex includes teaching spaces, accommodation, administration buildings, auditoriums, gymnasiums, etc. To ensure a clear order, scale and orientation within the ambitiously scaled project, the architects explain the sense of order is derived from classical architecture, with temple-like geometries and continuous colonnades. However, contrasting architecture offers spatial diversity and rich façade expressions beyond the colonnades, encouraging people to explore.

photo_credit Siming Wu
Siming Wu

Alongside this, public spaces weave playfully in, out, and around build forms. A void underneath the first floor allows for a continuous landscape with platforms and landforms for students to engage with. The contrasting scale of halls and courtyards and bold use of colour add a dramatic effect. At the same time, the scientifically planned circulation system emphasizes efficiency, utilizing sky bridges where necessary to ensure efficiency and the shortest distances between spaces.

photo_credit Siming Wu
Siming Wu

Climate and energy Energy-saving Strategies:

Located in climate with hot and humid summers, the complex employs natural cooling strategies with measures such as elevating the ground floor to allow for cross-ventilation.

photo_credit Siming Wu
Siming Wu

For larger-scale buildings like the stadium, a series of energy-saving strategies decrease the cost of daily maintenance. Such systems include exhaust fans near ceiling-high windows, which improve natural ventilation by accelerating airspeed. Further, guiding boards change the route of airflow flow from exterior to interior, adding to the positive effects of cross-ventilation. By changing angles, the guiding boards keep humid air away from the interiors during rainy summer days while bringing in soft daylight. 

photo_credit Siming Wu
Siming Wu

Other passive strategies include the application of skylights to bring more natural light into interiors and reduce the use of artificial lighting in areas with deep floor plans, such as the swimming center and cafeteria.

Finally, the local microclimate is improved and enhanced by introducing green space throughout the campus.