▲Real photos after renovation
Xu Zhimo, a Chinese modern poet who once pictured Florence and Cambridge with poems, fell in love with Miss Lu Xiaoman, a gorgeous celebrity in Shanghai, on a spring morning. The famous couple once went boating on the Liwa River in the campus of East China Normal University (ECNU), where the wind blew softly and the artistic charm could be within reach everywhere.
East China Normal University locates at North Zhongshan Road, Putuo District, Shanghai. East side of the university is Shanghai Inner Ring Elevated Road. The university is about 8 km away from city center, the bund, and Lujiazui. This project, which was an on campus storage, is at Liwa riverside inside the university.Famed as the University of Garden, ECNU boasts Chinese classic garden landscape and academic buildings of Western classical architecture style. Many school buildings are listed as cultural relics by the government.
▲Real photos before renovation
Before the renovation, the site was too narrow, and the space was too plain, and the whole site was in lack of campus vitality. Vegetation was abundant and mess, which easily attracted mosquitos.
▲Real photos after renovation
For the project’s creativity and completion, design team thoroughly considers the connection among architecture, topography, and light, extracting elements by realism method to integrate university badge, red brick architecture style, and vegetation’s natural living appearance, to reshape space conception between indoor and outdoor places and natural conditions, which is also the expression of art and humanity.
▲Real photos after renovation·Expression and realization of design elements
The original parking shed on the south side of Huayu Study is replaced by the extended terrace and porch while retaining the former red-brick buildings. The antique-look auburn rust slates are applied to make the Study more dynamic, spacious and functional.
▲Design renderings of the corridor
▲Real photos after renovation·corridor
The square on its southern side is too flat, so the modern-style sunken plaza is designed. Tender yellow wooden steps form a rest zone and plants in the central space add more natural fun and surround the space.
▲Design renderings of the sunken square in front of the corridor
▲Real photos after renovation ·the sunken square in front of the corridor
Chong’er Pavilion adjacent to the sunken square is made of white and auburn stone, a harmonious style and colors the same as the Huayu Study. The boat-like base stands for the boat of ECNU’s brilliant history, and a candle of hope floating on the Liwa River. Standing right here, you will be greeted with the beautiful scenery of the River, the shadows of plants and the fragrance of flowers.
▲Design renderings of Chong’er pavilion
▲Real photos after renovation·Chong’er pavilion
The footpath along the river bank is paved with gray stone in turning curves, flanked by ground covers. The large part of the wall for Huayu Study can reflect glass to create privacy and opposite scenery visually, with no boundaries between the interior and outer space.
▲Real photos afterrenovation·Scenic walk along the river
The passageway on the east side of Huayu Study is paved with smoky gray tiles and decorated with floor lamps and plants. Chairs with simple design and smooth lines are placed to make the campus more vibrant.
▲Pavement design analysis
▲Real photos after renovation·Paving details
▲Design renderings of Stool
▲Real photos after· renovation Stool & floor lamp details
Trees and ground cover overgrowing in the campus of ECNU through its long history are prone to breeding mosquitoes and insects. Therefore, the design team uses the flowers space to fill the ground without removing the maetasequoia and chinar forest. Flowers of different colors blooming all the year round add so much fun and vigor to the campus.
▲Real photos after · renovation Plant details
The interior Study is paved with stone, and the wall is adorned by red bricks and glass. The sunlight and shadows thus can create a simple and serene atmosphere.
▲Real photos after renovation Sakai stone foot ground details
The renovation project of Huayu Study of ECNU integrates natural beauty with historical and cultural charm of the campus. It is bound to inject new life into the campus and create a better school space.