Kindergarten of ECNU Tonglu School

Completion date: 2024.6.1

size of project: 8,878 square meters Situated on the southwest of Tonglu County, Hangzhou, the kindergarten is a part of ECNU Tonglu School. It encompasses 3 toddler care classes and 15 general nursery classes. The kindergarten adjoins the Phase Ⅰ constructions across the Baiyunyuan Road on the northwest side, with Fuchunnan Channel on the southeast side. Other Phase Ⅱ teaching buildings are on the northeast and southwest sides of the site. The project draws inspiration from Rubik’s Snake, a puzzle toy with simple cubes and wedges that can be twisted to be made a wide range of shapes. Though Rubik’s Snake itself is complex and its cubes can be twisted in different directions to form a variety of shapes, the variations are clear and can be recorded by the simplest symbols. As an operable toy with variable combinations, Rubik’s Snake is characterized by the label of simple elements and strong integrity. By changing the combinations of basic geometric forms, the kindergarten takes hexagonal space as the core and establishes a relationship “serving and being served” between square space and triangular space, so as to create a complex yet interconnected spatial pattern. The brief of this design is generating complex combinations under the clear logic and creating rich changes under the unified whole.