Qingpu Experimental Middle School

Design Team: Brearley Architects + Urbanists
Size： 21425 m²   
Location：Shanghai, China

​

Feature：

Project - The new Qingpu Experimental Middle School in Shanghai's Qingpu district presents a paradigm shift in educational architecture. Designed by BAU Brearley Architects + Urbanists, the 21,425 sqm campus eschews the typical factory-like aesthetic of Chinese schools in favor of a dreamlike, innovative form that prioritizes student engagement and inquiry-based learning. The building's striking facade features a distorted slab silhouette that bends and curves inwards toward the central courtyard, with undulating lines of balconies and parabolic bay windows that appear to vibrate with movement. This lyrical formal language takes inspiration from the whimsical drawings of the late architect Zhang Zai Yuan and the site's adjacent canal. But the unique design goes beyond just aesthetics. The flexible layout allows traditional classrooms to transform into open, informal learning spaces through the use of operable walls and enclosed corridor "streets" that can accommodate exhibitions and projects. Specialty rooms, nooks, and wide hallways further enable student-driven activities like peer learning, STEAM projects, and digital collaboration. With China's declining birth rates expected to reduce classroom sizes, the architects future-proofed the school to facilitate a shift toward more progressive, student-centered pedagogies. The architecture envisions fostering creativity and unlocking every student's potential through environment as much as academics.

​

Design Team - Founded in 1992 in Melbourne, Australia, BAU Brearley Architects + Urbanists has become a trailblazing multi-disciplinary firm united by a passion for innovative ideas. Under the leadership of Directors James Brearley and Fang Qun, BAU comprises a diverse team of architects, urban designers, planners, and landscape architects dedicated to delivering exceptional built environments. With offices in Australia and China, BAU adopts a design-as-research approach that pushes boundaries while being economically, socially, culturally, and environmentally sustainable. Their process seamlessly integrates architecture, urbanism, and landscape, resulting in multi-dimensional solutions that transcend mere aesthetics. BAU's pioneering urban strategies facilitate evolving, resilient cities through thoughtful planning that minimizes environmental impact. The firm's architectural prowess lies in innovative form-making informed by contemporary theory, embracing advances in space design, order, and aesthetics. BAU's architecture is deeply rooted in context, merging pragmatics with iconography to craft meaningful, sustainable built works. Their award-winning portfolio exemplifies design excellence across typologies.