Yueyang No.3 School

The project is located in Yueyang county, Hunan Province in China.

In cele­bra­tion of the 60^th anni­ver­sary of Yueyang No.3 School, the client decided to sponsor a new indoor play­ground doubling as a lecture hall with the purpose of crea­ting better sports space and invi­go­ra­ting the regu­larly planned campus.

Situation

Yueyang County No.3 School Sports Hall is situated at the southwest corner of the campus, where there’s a alti­tude diffe­rence between the main teaching area and an exis­ting outdoor play­ground. The diffe­rence was bridged merely with a rubble stone retai­ning wall and some narrow stairs, to the disad­van­tage of both acces­si­bi­lity and safety.

Instead of sitting simply at the lower or higher part, the buil­ding stret­ches across the alti­tude diffe­rence rather than rests on the higher or lower part of the site, thus forming a natural link between the main teaching area and the play­ground.

Climate

Yueyang is located in the hot-summer and cold-winter climate zone in China, where the weather is humid and rainy all year round. Natural venti­la­tion and lighting serve as major sustainable stra­te­gies to improve thermal comfort and reduce the cost of equip­ment and main­ten­ance of Yueyang County No.3 School. The inte­gra­tion design approach takes form, space and sustainable stra­te­gies into conside­ra­tion simul­ta­neously.

A skylight renders the ambi­ence of the rostrum, and the space above the rostrum is heigh­tened to accom­mo­date a rain­proof air-vent on the inclined façade wihout mecha­nical appli­ances.

Ventilation

An array of operable doors at the bottom of southern and nort­hern facades can boost natural venti­la­tion, reduce humi­dity and improve thermal comfort.

A narrow alley is planned between the campus’s southern wall and buil­dings along the wall. In summer, the wall’s shade cools the air before it enters the buil­ding. Ample skylights on the jagged roof can provide enough natural light even in rainy weathers, while louvers on the jags take away the heat.

Construction

Cast-in-situ methods and prefa­bri­ca­tions have been both applied in the cons­truc­tion of Yueyang County No.3 School Sports Hall to alle­viate the impact on the campus. At the lower part, the rubble stone retai­ning wall has been extended, while the cons­truc­tion was done through on-site cons­truc­tion with rein­forced concrete and red bricks. At the upper part, the main space was built with prefa­bri­cated steel­work enve­lopes and roofs.

Fun through design

The neat work of red bricks, with charac­te­ristics of artisan craft­sman­ship, is desi­gned inte­grally with indus­trial buil­ding parts, offset­ting the mono­tony of an indus­tria­lized buil­ding with its sense of arti­stry and freedom. For instance, venti­la­tion openings on the red brick walls are formed through tradi­tional neat work, and the images of 12 zodiacs emerge on the wall through thoughtfully desi­gned uneven­ness of the wall.

The color and pattern of Yueyang County No.3 School Sports Hall resem­bles the abstrac­tion of Yueyang’s topo­graphy, as well as the distri­bu­tion of its moun­tains and waters, provi­ding the students with more fun and inter­ac­tion through the power of design.