Circle Xinqiao Expatriate Children School | Winner Designs
Circle Xinqiao Expatriate Children School by Huang Fan

Circle Xinqiao Expatriate Children School

Golden A' Design Award Winner 2023

This extraordinary aerial visualization presents Huang Fan's The Circle Xinqiao Expatriate Children School as a compelling exemplar of contemporary educational architecture that reimagines the relationship between institutional form and pedagogical philosophy. The design engages with longstanding architectural traditions of the circular enclosure, from ancient ceremonial precincts to Renaissance ideal city plans, while translating these historical precedents into a distinctly contemporary formal vocabulary characterized by fluid curvilinearity and sophisticated material expression. The building's sweeping elliptical configuration creates a protective embrace around its central recreational core, establishing an architectural metaphor for the nurturing environment essential to childhood development and international educational exchange. The composition demonstrates remarkable facility in orchestrating multiple scales of experience, from the monumental civic presence legible in aerial perspective to the intimate human-scaled terraces and gathering spaces suggested by the articulated facade treatment. The chromatic strategy proves particularly noteworthy, with the pristine white exterior surfaces establishing institutional dignity while warm interior illumination visible through extensive glazing suggests welcoming interior environments animated by activity and purpose. The integration of extensive rooftop gardens and landscape elements throughout the complex evidences commitment to biophilic design principles, acknowledging the documented benefits of natural exposure for cognitive development and emotional wellbeing. The careful siting within the broader urban context, connected by tree-lined arterials yet buffered by verdant landscape zones, suggests thoughtful consideration of the school's role as both community anchor and protected educational sanctuary. One might contemplate how the circular form, with its absence of hierarchical orientation, symbolizes the inclusive educational philosophy of welcoming students from diverse international backgrounds into a unified community of learning.

As the first international school in Hefei Airport New Area, it integrates the eastern philosophy of equality into architectural form and living conditions. In response to the large park and lake view on the west side, as well as the oval shape of the site, the building opens to the park in an embracing gesture. It innovatively makes all kinds of school life revolve around the central dynamic space. The school consists of two parts: the kindergarten is a separate building because it was built last; the middle school and primary school are in one building, surrounding the playground.