Inspired design for truly open, connected and flexible modern campus
The man chosen to design the Whittle School & Studios campuses — renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano, whose works include The Shard in London and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris — has a special vision for the new schools.
Piano has one key design concept that will apply to the Shenzhen campus and all the campuses that will be opened internationally.
He and his building workshop plan to build an open, connected and flexible modern campus whose spaces are extensions of the classroom.
Inspired by the small hilltop towns built around town squares in his home country, Piano applied this concept to the design of Whittle School & Studios. He said he wants to create an educational village with the ground floor having an extraordinary openness to the community. The campus will be a magic place and give opportunities for students to feel and learn from the city, Piano said. Extraordinary openness
The height of the ceilings will influence people’s creativity and Piano plans to build high-ceiling classrooms and turn the roof spaces into gardens, laboratories and playgrounds.
“The roof of a building is a place of freedom and discovery for children. Every child wants to reach the roof. It’s like a magical lantern in the evening and students can see planets, stars and the sun,” Piano said.
Creativity is only possible when you are ready to share the adventure with other people, he added. The campus will have glass-walled courtyards and a tree-edged cafeteria which overlooks a skylight.
“I want to create an area that is a good place to teach about nature and environmental protection, as the new generation is witnessing a fragile earth,” Piano explained.
The classrooms of Whittle School & Studios are designed to be flexible and change depending on learning needs, with plenty of communal space for students and teachers to interact. And the ingenious architecture of the glass-clad, light-filled buildings ensures a transparent, open and bright setting. The flexible learning designs of the classroom support the transition between different modes and scales of learning, teaching and playing, from individual work to collaborative projects, to seminar discussions or largegroup learning and one-on-one instruction.
The campuses worldwide will share the same design concept with some differences based on the geographical location, climate and geological conditions of the cities they are located in, according to Whittle School & Studios.
It is expected that each new campus will learn from the older ones and progress until gradually being perfected.
“The campus is a place to work, meet people, share views, make friends and people will discover that diversity is a great value. The idea of a global school is just so good and designing the school is one of the best things I can do in my life,” Piano said.
“The Piano-led team will make the building elegant, highly crafted, simple, warm and natural,” said Peter Brown, global head of architecture and design of Whittle School & Studios.
“They also pay attention to increase the performance of the building to make it so effective.”
The Shenzhen and Washington DC campuses started construction in February and are expected to open next year.
The roof of a building is a place of freedom and discovery for children.”