New Campus Development of Chu Hai College of Higher Education
Rocco Design Architects Limited
Education
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Completed
The new campus design signifies a highly linked & connected institution. It looks into the compact urban condition of Hong Kong itself for direct inspiration and epitomizes a miniature city, dense and connected. The spatial organization maximizes density by stacking multiple slab blocks of different programs vertically on top of each other over a podium of communal activities, including a number of lecture theatres and a gymnasium. A folded vertical Student Boulevard rises to form a 3-dimensional street network in the air that weaves and binds the different blocks and levels into a connected whole. From the Boulevard, students can gain free access to a series of sky gardens and roof decks of various scales on different levels: turfed green lawn sloping towards the sea, student plaza & mini café etc., all afforded with magnificent sea views and lively atmosphere.
The footprints of the buildings are restricted to that of the existing foundations to minimize unnecessary modification. Programs requiring larger footprints such as the classrooms and libraries are suspended out from the main slab blocks to make up for the required floor area. Architecturally, the library and the student union are remodeled as bridges that connect the east and west slab blocks into an iconic gateway. The classrooms on the upper floors are tapered outwards, creating a sloping wall as a reflector to redirect sunlight to the interior corridor and allow natural ventilation to reach the lower levels.
The building comprises of all the teaching facilities required of a tertiary education institution: lecture theatre, workshops, library, classrooms and other special teaching facilities. In addition, there are also residences for student dormitories and staff quarters. It is a campus of learning and opportunities for different people to interact.
The elevation of the building reflects an authentic expression of its complex section. Formally, the cantilevers and bridges extending from the slab blocks resemble the image of a tree crown and symbolize the primitive learning space under the shade of the green canopy. Its composition and construction also resemble the inherent spirit of Chinese Calligraphy, namely the beautiful balance of solid and void in the elevation. The erection of the new campus in essence alludes to the creation of a new character: a new rudiment that would form the root of new knowledge for the generations to come.
Hong Kong
China
Chu Hai College
04/2016
26500 sq. m
Rocco Design Architects Limited
Rocco Yim, C.M. Chan, William Tam, Henry Ho, Stephen Chan, Hoi-Wai Sze, William Lee, Agnus Lau, Li Qingyue, Alan Chiang, Julia Mok, Nicholas Ho, Justin Chan
CR Construction Company Limited
Project Manager - Ove Arup & Partners (HK) Ltd.
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Virgile S. Bertrand (for the part elevation only)
Curriculum
Working in a region with disparate cultural and physical landscapes, where values from diverging times and places converge, Rocco Design Architects is founded in the belief that architecture is the embodiment of culture embracing and reinterpreting the past and the modernity, and the requirements of contemporary living. While always eager to explore and innovate, our works are marked by their sensitivity and sensibility with awareness that architecture, rather than just an art, is ultimately the art of problem-solving.
Rocco Design currently has about 140 staff with offices in Hong Kong and mainland China. Our works have been consistently awarded locally and internationally. Notably ones include First Prize for the L’Opéra de la Bastille International Competition in 1983, the Chicago Athenaeum Architectural Awards in 2006, 2011 and 2013, and the ULI Global Award of Excellence in 2014. We were the first Hong Kong architect to have solo exhibition at the Berlin Aedes Forum in 2015.