Designed by WSP ARCHITECTS, Century-old Hangzhou Normal University builds a new campus five kilometers west of the Xixi Wetland. Here, there is a typical river network in the south of the Yangtze River. One kilometer west of the University is the Warehouse Street of nearly nine hundred years of historical heritage; Water Silk Cotton was once prominent.
Photography: RUIJING Photography
The new campus planning consists of more than a dozen independent but fully open colleges, whose architectural style are different, forming a rich puzzle. In the center of these colleges, the planner arranged a core area complex for all the colleges, including administrative center, archives, adult education centre, Institute of Hangzhou urbanization, central library, teacher and student activity center, hotel and reception center, international conference center, theatre and central plaza; these are the design tasks we are facing. Photography: Hui Zhang
Concepts and ideas start with urban design. First of all, a huge site is divided into several smaller-scaled blocks, which are completely open to each other and closely connected to surrounding colleges. Each block is based upon one main function, considering the requirements of an independent managing body for operational management, the blocks are also linked with each other to meet the needs of convenient and flexible use. As far as possible, the ground buildings are arranged to the outside of the blocks, so as to e...