“We approach the construction of the academies as an opportunity to reactivate community culture. The proposal seeks not only to mend the existing spatial fabric of the city but also trace and reveal the valuable cultural threads embedded in its surroundings. We hope to ‘nourish’ the future of the district, weaving a more generous urban space and a richer urban life through the architectural design of two new schools.”
— Meng Yan
The site consists of residential areas, industrial parks, and an urban village. At the village entrance, incense continues to burn at the Dawang Bogong Temple sheltered beneath a century-old banyan tree. A few hundred meters north stands the Hakka Walled Houses, Qixing Shiju Historic Residence. From the north to the south, the two hills and a solitary tree sketch a subtle urban-natural-cultural axis. The Weilong School (primary and secondary school) in the northeast corner sits beside a major urban road, while the Weiwu School (primary school) in the southwest is crossed by a small river, with a high-rise residential complex located in between.
In Hakka culture, the core archetypal settlement form—the walled houses—is characterized by a strong sense of territory and richly layered courtyard spaces. Drawing inspiration from this traditional structure, we reinterpreted the spatial logic of the Hakka Walled Houses through a contemporary architectural language. Our aim is to explore place-making rooted in regional typological research, reshape boundary of the campus, realize the school as a shared resource for the community, and explore systematic and innovative strategies for managing public space.
Weilong School adopts the continuous, horizontal massing inspired by the Hakka walled houses in response to the surrounding city’s over-scaled and overly vertical environment. Along its perimeter, density is layered into a continuous enclosing mass allowing the school’s interior to open into garden-like courtyards reminiscent of Lingnan Landscape. Shared functional spaces line the site edges, with colonnaded ground-floor street frontage opened to the city and corridors extended to the community, forming a composite interface between the school and the neighborhood. The design introduces a creative spatial model of “school units + corridor clusters,” deconstructing the courtyard system of the traditional walled houses into several independent school units, each tailored a stage of learning. For younger children, circular ramps and playful passages encourage exploration; for middle years, expansive color-blocked courts invite running and free movement; for older students, cloistered garden and greenery cultivate a quieter rhythm balancing concentration and dialogue.
Weiwu School, occupies an irregular plot, encircled by towers. Its “outward-folding, inward-curving” plan maximizes land use while the design strategy responds to the high-density environment, stitching together fragmented spatial textures and reinserting cultural and spiritual meaning into the community. While emphasizing enclosure above, the design places community-shared cultural and athletic facilities on the ground. A large central sports field doubles as a stage for major community events, reinforcing neighborhood cohesion. The architectural language draws inspiration from Hakka dwellings, adapted to the local climate and school’s function needs. Its diverse facade expressions address challenges of a dense campus, balancing shading, ventilation, privacy and openness.
There is an urgent need today to mend the fragmented urban blocks left behind by years of frenzied real estate development, reweaving them into complete, livable living spaces. In a high-rise residential area in Longgang District surrounded by urban villages, industrial parks, and major arterial roads, we have inserted two primary and secondary schools, thereby completing the overall construction of the neighborhood block. We have reinterpreted the spatial principles of Hakka walled houses as a series of uniquely distinctive academic clusters, allowing the limited site to extend infinitely within a richly layered Lingnan garden space. The powerful geometric order of the Hakka walled village serves as an anchor against the surrounding homogenized development. The open campus boundaries and internally connected settlement clusters function not only as public spaces where children can discover their potential, but also provide the spatial conditions to break through the enclosed walls of traditional campuses, enabling exploration and co-creation with the community. This makes it possible for the academies to nourish the community and grow together with it.
Client: Public Works Bureau of Longgang District, Shenzhen
Location: Wulian Community, Longgang District, Shenzhen
Design: 2021-2022
Construction: 2022-2024
Principal Architects: Meng Yan, Wen Ting
Competition (Pre-qualification) Team: Sun Pengcheng, Huang Jiahong, Zhang Chaoxian
Competition Team: Huang Jiahong, Zhang Chaoxian, Zeng Yi, Yu Shiyao, Zhu Hongrui, Liao Guotong, Weng Hua, Zhou Yuerong, Gao Yunrui, Song Baolin, Sun Jiawei, Chen Jing | Gong Yidan (Community Building) | Ma Xiying, Pu Jinyan (landscape) | Chen Yining, Zhang Hui, Zhang Xinyu (Internship)
Photographer: TAL
Weilong School
Site Area: 31,567 m²
Floor Area: 73,511 m²
Building Storey: 5 Floors above-ground, 1 Floor underground
Building Height: 24.0m
Building Design Development:
Project General Manager: Zhang Haijun
Project Manager: Zeng Yi
Team: Zhu Hongrui, Gao Yunrui, Chen Jing, Dong Wenhan | Yao Xiaowei (Technical Director) | Zhang Xuejuan, Gao Yufeng, Li Guanda, Ma Xiying, Pu Jinyan, Wang Tingxin (Landscape) | Deng Tingfang, He Yutong, He Jiamin (Interior) | Liao Fuhua, Xu Zhihao, Tan Yongxian (Internship) | Gong Yidan, Coming Home Enterprises & Xiangtian Chuangwen (Community Building)
Collaborators:
Structural Consultant: H&J International Co., Ltd.
(CD) Structure/ MEP (Construction Document): Shenzhen Architecture Design General Research Institute (SZAD)
Interior Development: Nan Jing Shang Ze Design Co., Ltd.
Landscape Development: Shenzhen Sen Shi Jie Landscape and Planning Co., Ltd.
Acoustic consultant: Shenzhen KEDE Co., Ltd.
BIM: Shenzhen Qianhai Future City Technology Co., Ltd.
Kitchen Consultant: Anda Kitchen Design Co., Ltd
Green Building: Shenzhen Zhong Ji Green Building Co.,Ltd
Graphic Design: SURE Design
Contractor: Guangdong Lianfu Construction Engineering Co., Ltd
Concrete construction: Wuhan Wanshan Qingshui Construction Engineering Co., Ltd
Interior and Landscape Construction: Shi Dai Zhuang Shi Co., Ltd
Construction Agency: China Resources (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd
Weiwu School
Site Area: 10,115.3 m²
Floor Area: 25,836 m²
Building Storey: 5 Floors above-ground, 1 Floor underground
Building Height: 25.5m
Building Design Development:
Project Manager, Project Architect: Weng Hua
Team: Zhang Chaoxian, Zhang yingyuan, Huang Jiahong, Liao Guotong (Architecture) | Zhang Xuejuan, Li Guanda, Wang Tingxin, Gao Yufeng (Landscape) | He Jiamin, Deng Tingfang (Interior) | Zhang Hui, Li Peiying, Guo Anran, Hu Xiaomai, Huang Xianwen, Zhang Yipei, Tan Yongxian (Internship) | Gong Yidan, Coming Home Enterprises & Xiangtian Chuangwen (Community Building)
Technical Director: Yao Xiaowei
Collaborators:
Structural Consultant: H&J International Co., Ltd.
(CD) Structure/ MEP (Construction Document): Shenzhen TIANHUA Architectural Design Co., Ltd.
Landscape Development: ShenZhen Paier Landscape Planning And Design Consulting Co., Ltd.
Interior Development: JNJW Architectural Design
Graphic Design: SURE Design
Contractor: China Construction Fourth Engineering Division Corp. Ltd.
Construction Agency: Shenzhen Vanke City Construction Management Co., Ltd.
Learn more:
New Hakka Academy – Longgang Twin Stars School. THE PLAN 2025(164)040-052
The “New Hakka Academy” is about to be completed. 2024.9.29 URBANUS都市实践
金敏华. 新客家的书院梦. 深圳特区报 2021.10.29 (A08)
URBANUS wins “Towards A New Campus the Third Action – Hakka School Rebirth” competition for the design of two schools. 2021.10.25
