A Middle School Campus Design in Chengdu: A Dialogue between Architecture and Urban Ergonomics

With the new education concept being widely spread in China, the topics involving new campus design has been debated frequently. In the past three decades, Exam-Oriented Education prevailed, schools turned out to be education factories. As a result, education spaces think highly of efficiency, rather than the development of students. As the direction of China’s education reform, Quality-Oriented Education gradually replaces Exam-Oriented Education since 2010, so exploring spaces that can carry the new education spirit is an important topic nowadays. By taking an explorative case study in Chengdu, the thesis tries to explore a set of principles for new campus, based on the theory of Urban Ergonomics. Firstly, the thesis identifies three design scales based on the theoretical frame and approach proposed by Urban Ergonomics, then studies the factors involving them, and finally comes up with the design principles. According to the design principles and the basic elements of the campus, the design goals are accomplished through three key points: openness, sharing and communication. The thesis aims to explore the possibility of a new campus through design interventions so that the campus can become a bridge between people and people, people and architecture, and people and urban spaces.