Nanjing Fourth Elementary School Xie, MUDI Project

Project: Nanjing Fourth Elementary School Xie
Architects: MUDI
Location: Xie New District, Jianye District, Nanjing, China
Area: 268,096 sq ft
Photography: Gao Fen

Nanjing Fourth Elementary School Xie, MUDI Project

About the Company:

Founded in Munich in 2004 and based in Shanghai since 2005, MUDI (Munich Urban Design International) offers a full range of design services with an emphasis on energy-efficient construction and sustainable urban planning.

We believe that a 'Sustainable Future' can be achieved through 'Integrated Design', the result of a humanistic, collective and inclusive approach to architecture and planning that involves collaboration with experts from various fields and shared resources with other designers. As one of the first international practices focused on energy-efficient construction and sustainable urban planning in China, we recognize our responsibility for the social and ecological impact of our design.

Our competence in various design disciplines is supported by global partners, collaborators and consultants who work with us both in Shanghai and abroad. Over many years, this approach has become a consistent working methodology that has led to hundreds of successful collaborations and award-winning projects both in China and internationally. Some of our awarded projects include: Puzhen Intelligent Longevity Vale Offices in Shanghai, the first low-carbon project outside Germany to receive a German energy passport in 2006; Nanjing Fourth Elementary School Xie; Shenzhen Xianmi Garden and Library in collaboration with MLA+; H Gateway Office in Hangzhou in collaboration with JDS.

Project Description:

The recent Nanjing Youth Games 2014 helped establish the city's reputation as a city dedicated to supporting the physical and mental health of young athletes in China, both nationally and internationally. In response to the city's proposal for sports and activities for youth, MUDI integrated education and physical health into a sustainable design of the educational complex, combining German architectural technological complexity with deep understanding of local norms and climatic conditions.

Despite the complex site constraints and strict local regulations, the design is efficient and unique, breaking traditional approaches to school design in the region by focusing on stimulating learning environments for students. Considering compensations from primary and secondary roads, a future metro line, and a protected zone near a gas station, the classroom area amounts to only 40% of the total site area. Unlike typical school buildings in China where academic blocks and public functions are usually separated, the Xie Elementary School complex is compactly grouped into one volume, resulting in an extrusion of the remaining available space.

Two large internal courtyards penetrate the volume and separate three main diagonal academic blocks, ensuring solar exposure, natural ventilation, and extensive open spaces for children's activities. The first-floor perimeter of the building is fully open, creating a shaded outdoor activity zone where track runs circle around the building and through courtyards, connecting with the regular sports track to form a 1-kilometer 'super-track'.

At upper levels, circulation is organized through shaded perimeter corridors connecting all regular classrooms with laboratories and providing a spacious semi-open playground where students can play and interact.

Specialized classrooms and laboratories are distributed according to their required natural lighting along the building perimeter. The first floor is designated for main public functions, including the entrance hall, library, multi-purpose room and cafeteria, accessible from the school entrance. Located near the open stadium and separated from academic blocks, the main building to the north includes an indoor sports zone on the second floor.

To further enrich external activities and provide opportunities for alternative educational spaces, a series of rooftop gardens and an artificial pond in the northern courtyard become playful and effective elements that allow children to explore different plants and facilitate vegetable growing.

The color concept functionally defines the building. The main external facade of academic blocks consists of aluminum panels in four different shades of gray, designed to resemble the appearance and durability of a stone wall. Public functions on the first floor and internal walls at each level above are characterized by another greenish tone, which highlights circulation and helps with orientation inside the building.

In the Xie Elementary School, MUDI adopted an energy-saving strategy adapted to Nanjing's humid climate. The passive solar collector system is used for heating water in the cafeteria and kitchen, combined with photovoltaic energy generation; rainwater is filtered through a series of landscape elements and collected in underground tanks, while covered gardens and porous surfaces at ground level help retain water runoff. Inside, natural lighting is enhanced in the gymnasium using tubular skylights to reduce artificial lighting use and meet daylighting requirements for daytime sports events. Moreover, the gymnasium ceiling is equipped with a water heating system using vacuum tubes. The building uses centralized air conditioning integrated with an air purification and heat recovery system to create a safe, comfortable and environmentally clean educational environment for students. These sustainable strategies combine to meet and exceed the green requirements specified in the technical brief, creating a school truly rooted in its surroundings.

Construction of the school began in August 2017 and was officially opened in August 2020. Thanks to the joint efforts of all project participants, it was already awarded in 2018 with 'Digital Safety Management System for Construction Site', 'Three-Star Standard for Construction Site Standardization', 'Nanjing Standards for Application of New Technologies and Processes in Construction Industry' and the Silver Award for Video Contest 'VR Visualization Technology of Prefabricated Computer Room Assembly'.

– MUDI

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