Kindergarten II
Kindergarten transforms a newly built factory building into a cultural academy. Its immediate context suggests a landscape in transition in Wuhan’s periphery. The complex development pattern of China has a hybridized identity - Jiangxia resides in a landscape that is confronted with constant shift between industrialization and suburbanization.
The matrix of an industrial grid provides a groundwork that is both open and systematic. Adding walls to the columns would naturally generate a sequence of rooms - an enfilade condition that allows both separation and connection amongst classrooms and activities zones. Thinner walls suggest entry points, whereas thick walls contain programs that facilitate the adjacent, open spaces. A fluid, organic circulation is then created, similar to the free-flowing nature of a factory workshop.
Parallels lie between the manufacture of goods and the production of knowledge. They are both systematic and intuitive at the same time. Each classroom would work towards making a connected whole. Learning and artistic creation become intertwine - a true environment that encourages synergy and imagination is then realized.
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