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As one of the most densely populated K-12 schools in Suzhou, landscape design plays a key role in optimizing limited space, enhancing students’ well-being, and addressing climate-related challenges. It maximizes indoor-outdoor connectivity through a network of rooftop gardens, atriums gardens, courtyards, and corridors, integrating resilient landscape into the high-density campus. Inspired by the Suzhou heritages, a series of courtyards are crafted as metaphorical abstractions representing both culture and nature. It explores a new school landscape model that integrates sustainable growth, outdoor learning, and students’ well-being, responding to the growing challenges of density and efficiency of China’s rapid urbanization.
Suzhou Mountain Kingston School is located in Suzhou, a city with rich cultural heritage. However, the site is situated in a newly developed urban area lacking historical context. Due to rapid construction in the new district, the project is surrounded by wide, straight urban roads, densely populated residential areas, and vacant green spaces. The school’s mission is to establish an innovative institution with a global impact, rooted in humanistic traditions and independent thinking, blending Chinese and Western cultures. When creating the campus landscape, we need to consider how to connect the city’s historical context, cater to the needs of students and teachers of different age groups, and shape unique spaces within various areas of the campus.
The open frame structure of the 200m long elementary and high school building allows natural ventilation and daylight maximization in the linear courtyard, where tree and bamboo groves are filled in to create diverse experience and minimize building energy use. Despite the absence of air conditioning, this space remains comfortable and is warmly embraced by students. Rooftop gardens, beyond mitigating heat island effects, become versatile and resilient landscape spaces, serving to students’ diverse daily needs. The layered landscape system retains stormwater and reduces surface runoff. Biodiversity species and drought-tolerant plants to create vibrant pollinator habitats and reduce water use for landscape irrigation.
Suzhou Mountain Kingston School, an exploration and practice in modern campus landscape design by Z’scape, is situated in a high-density urban new area. It deftly balances traditional culture with contemporary interpretation, artistic expression with ecological harmony, aesthetics with practicality, and continues the spirit of Suzhou’s traditional craftsmanship in design and construction. We place great emphasis on creating a vibrant campus culture, tailoring diverse landscape spaces to the characteristics and needs of students across different age groups. By integrating architectural functions and circulation patterns, we establish a clear framework for the landscape system. Lush vegetation permeates every corner of the campus—pathways, rooftops, courtyards, and boundaries. We pay meticulous attention to the details and whimsical aspects of smaller spaces, exploring and expressing the poetic and lively moments that exist within arm’s reach.
The design team balances traditional culture with contemporary interpretation, artistic expression with ecological harmony, aesthetics with practicality, and continues the spirit of Suzhou’s traditional craftsmanship in design and construction. Great emphasis is placed on creating a vibrant campus culture, tailoring diverse landscape spaces to the characteristics and needs of students across different age groups. By integrating architectural functions and circulation patterns, a clear framework
Founder of Z'scape Mr. Zhou Liangjun has rich experience in both domestic andoverseas work. He has years of practical landscape design experience in London,UK. He has worked on various types of projects such as urban public open space,commercial complex, boutique hotel and resort landscape design. He provideswonderful and feasible concepts, planning and design solutions for worldwideprojects and has practical works in Europe, the Middle East and China. Firmlybelieving that design is of great value, Z’ scape is committed to the research andpractice in the fields of landscape, art and design. We constantly pursue themodern naturalism and the aesthetics of landscape, explore local characteristicsand design elements in every project, and emphasize the relationship betweenhuman beings, culture and nature. We are dedicated to creating artistic, culturaland sustainable landscape space which will allow people to experience thevitality of the landscape and immerse themselves in it
