The architecture of educational buildings is currently very important for large studios. In them, the best ideas and the most ingenious solutions are developed. The kindergarten in Dalingshan, China is a perfect example.

In the mountain of Dalingshan, one of the poorest villages in this millenary country, an educational complex dedicated to children is being built to encourage creativity and the arts in students, as well as social interaction in the community. The design of the impressive construction is the work of the studio Dika Design.

Like heaven-sent

Dika Design developed one of its unique and fun projects for the educational sector around China’s space launch center, Xichang Satellite. In the mountains of Dalingshan, the firm that is known for designing schools with fun shapes and sustainable technology, created an educational center in the shape of a space capsule that could resemble a cloud due to its curved shapes.

The construction covers a space of 4,950 square meters and is composed of different buildings with irregular shapes to emulate the topography of the site and geometric shapes to create contrast. All in impeccable white with skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows to let in as much natural light as possible.

Among the recreational areas, the school has a basketball court and different multipurpose playgrounds, as well as other playgrounds on the roofs of some of its buildings that are connected to each other by bridges, forming an asymmetrical and fully connected structure.

The center of attention

The message here is clear: establishing children’s education as the focal point of daily activity and transforming the school into the center of the community’s social activities. How? By encouraging outdoor play with playgrounds and parks on the roofs of the buildings and large common spaces around the classrooms.

The extension of the school, its peculiar shapes, and above all, its white color, breaks with all the visual monotony of the valley, becoming a mandatory reference for the population.

Seen from afar, the concept of a “space capsule” is diluted, and instead, the school appears to copy the shapes of the mountains in the surrounding valley. Achieving this effect was a design challenge that the team solved by incorporating dome-shaped roofs at different levels and two-story and three-story buildings.

For the children’s enjoyment, the building has passageways, slides, and several types of stairs, so moving from one place to another becomes an adventure that allows the students to build stories with their creativity and imagination.