The Academic Center in Huitong Village

Traditional Chinese academies are usually built on the mountains, people read books and draw paintings in remarkable natural landscapes. This design attempts to use modern space composition and form but recreate a feeling of ascending, wandering and enjoying the scenery like Traditional Chinese academies.

I chose the hill on the north of the village as my site. In order to recreate a feeling of climbing, wandering and enjoying the scenery like Traditional Chinese academies, I designed a climbing route connecting the hall, exhibition spaces, library, classrooms, and accommodations for visiting experts. The old buildings with pitched roofs on the site were preserved and regenerated into classrooms and library rooms by adding some new elements. The original forest in the site is preserved, as a transition between the old and new buildings. In order to be in harmony with the neighboring old brick building in color and texture, the newly built part has applied cast-in-place concrete with wooden templates. The key words of this Design are experience and scenery. When people come in, through the reception space, they first enter a central hall with trees and old buildings in the view, the light pouring down from the space above. There are different ways for you to choose. If going downstairs through the ramp, you can feel the light with the shadow of the tree outside, finally arrive at the exhibition space. If going upstairs through the ramp or stairs, you will go outside for a moment, feel the wind and trees, and then go inside. There is a canopy covered by mirror stainless steel when you reach the first floor. People can have a cup of tea here in the shade and enjoy the landscape of mountains. On the second floor, two terraces are set up outside the classroom so that people can enjoy the view of village from different perspectives. The accommodation for visiting experts is placed in the forest on top of the hill. Each room has a view overlooking the entire village. A bridge through the forest connects it to the main building. Whether you are looking at an exhibition, listening to a lesson or simply walking in the building, you can feel the external scenery in different ways (such as sight, hearing and touch) anytime, anywhere. The entire building does not use any Chinese traditional styles, such as a sloping roof, but it recreates the feeling of learning and living in nature like a traditional academy.