Third landscape. YueCheng Courtyard Kindergarten by MAD Architects
22/08/2020.
[Beijing] China
metalocus, ANDRÉS ROJAS
metalocus, ANDRÉS ROJAS
Project description by Adamo Faiden Arquitectos
Located on the site of a traditional siheyuan courtyard dating back to 1725, the scheme inserts a new building that protects the existing buildings that are restored for use. The design features a dynamic floating roof that surrounds the historic courtyard. Preserving the cultural heritage of the site, it forms a multi-layered urban narrative, where old and new co-exist.
Unfolding onto the site with a low and gentle posture, the roof transforms the space between the various buildings into a colorful playground that functions as the main place for children to engage in outdoor sports and activities – place full of magic symbolizing freedom and endless imagination. On the southwest side of the roof, a subtly undulating surface of small ‘hills’ creates a high and low terrain, forming a playful landscape.
The kindergarten's interior has been envisioned as an open-concept layout that serves as a teaching space, library, small theater, and gymnasium – a free and inclusive atmosphere, that functions as the daily education space for 400 children, ages 2-5. The new learning space opens towards the historic courtyard buildings giving the children alternating views between old and new; deepening their understanding of time and dimension.
The “Courtyard Kindergarten” reveals several architectural elements – a modern building from the 90s, and a traditional courtyard from 400 years ago – that initially seem to be conflicting. By retaining the authenticity of the original buildings, we allow them to co-exist with one another, creating a new kind of interaction between them. The openness and richness of the design allows children to have an objective and true comprehension of the environment that surrounds them. It offers them an understanding of history and place, and the preservation of nature, bringing an inclusiveness between the old and new design, adding value to the community.
Beijing-born architect Ma Yansong is recognized as an important voice in a new generation of architects. Since the founding of MAD in 2004, his works in architecture and art have been widely published and exhibited. He graduated from the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture. Ma attended Yale University after receiving the American Institute of Architects Scholarship for Advanced Architecture Research in 2001 and holds a masters degree in Architecture from Yale. He has since taught architecture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.
Ma Yansong was awarded the 2006 Architecture League Young Architects Award. In 2008 he was selected as one of the twenty most influential Young Architects today by ICON magazine and Fast Company named him one of the ten most creative people in architecture in 2009. In 2010 he became the first architect from China to receive a RIBA fellowship.
“I work with emotion and with the context. When I design a building, I close my eyes and feel as if I saw a virtual world which lays half way between the city, the nature and the land. It goes from large scale to small scale. Many things travel in front of my eyes; I feel them and try to find the way to express my feelings. The language I use is the least important of it all. It does not matter whether they are straight lines, curves... I only intend for people to feel the same or to find something unexpected” says Ma Yansong. “MAD is an attitude, a posture towards architecture, towards society. Through our work we want people to be inspired by a place through local nature, time and space”, he states.
Photo © Daniel J.Allen
MAD Office, Beijing, China. MAD is a Beijing-based architecture design office dedicated to creating innovative projects. The firm combines a sophisticated design philosophy with advanced technology in addressing and furthering issues in contemporary architecture and urbanity.
The firm has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2006 Architectural League of New York's Young Architects Forum Award.
MAD's ongoing projects include the international competition-winning Absolute Tower in Toronto, Canada; The Tianjin Sinosteel International Plaza, a 320M tall tower in Tianjin, China; the Mongolian Museum in Inner Mongolia, China, and a private villa in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The firm has also won numerous international design competitions, including the 2006 Absolute Tower Competition in Toronto; the 2005 Solar Plaza Competition in Guangzhou, China, and the 2004 Shanghai National Software Outsourcing Base.
MAD's work has been published worldwide, and the office has also presented its designs in a series of exhibitions. In 2006, MAD was shown at the ‘MAD in China' exhibition in Venice during the Architecture Biennial, and the ‘MAD Under Construction' exhibition at the Tokyo Gallery in Beijing. In March of 2007, MAD will be shown at ‘MAD.exe' an exhibition at the Danish Architecture Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ma Yansong, Yosuke Hayano and Qun Dand.