The Quzhou No.6 Experimental School is designed by LYCS Architecture. Located on Changshan Road in Quzhou’s High-Speed Rail New Town, the campus spans approximately 67,500 square meters. It is a comprehensive educational complex accommodating a 36-class primary school and an 18-class middle school.
Traditional school campuses are often composed of plazas, courtyards, and roads with clearly defined boundaries. However, as educational philosophies evolve, a single classroom can no longer accommodate the diverse spatial needs of contemporary education. The core design goal of this project is to create an open and flexible campus environment that encourages observation, exploration, and communication among students.
The design departs from conventional educational spaces by introducing creative public areas guided by the concept of a “Tree of Growth.” In this metaphorical framework, teaching spaces represent the roots, hybrid spaces form the trunk, and innovation spaces correspond to the canopy. These elements are organized along a west-to-east axis, shaping the overall spatial structure of the campus.
In addition, the campus features a variety of public and semi-public spaces in different scales—pocket parks at classroom entrances, gable-end alcoves at the end of corridors, and a central cluster of large-scale venues for cultural and sports activities. These spaces respond to different rhythms of school life, from in-between class breaks to during-class interactions and after-class gatherings.Connected by streets and corridors, they enrich the traditional teaching spaces with new functions, transforming them into future-oriented environments that support innovation and self-directed learning.
The design introduces the concept of a “street” as an organizing element between the traditional teaching spaces, hybrid spaces, and innovation spaces. A meandering main street and secondary paths that navigate level changes weave through the campus and connect its functional zones. This spatial system fosters a rich and diverse campus experience, encouraging interaction, movement, and a sense of discovery throughout daily school life.
Running from south to north, a winding main street forms the central axis of the campus, stitching together the entire site. As one moves along the route, the scenery shifts continuously—lush landscaped public spaces, playful gable-end facades, and layered courtyard environments unfold one after another. Extending from west to east, a series of secondary paths connect various spatial elements—semi-enclosed courtyards, sunken gardens, and elevated walkways—leading toward the campus’s cultural and athletic center.
The teaching area comprises two "E" -shaped academic clusters. The gable-end facades of these buildings are designed as spatially “thickened” terminal volumes, ingeniously integrating single-flight and double-flight staircases that connect rest platforms and transitional spaces. At the top, these volumes open up into rooftop terraces; at the base, they form sheltered, open-air entrances. "pocket parks" extend the idea of the campus street into the upper levels of the teaching blocks. Scattered between buildings, these informal learning spaces vary in theme, form, and color.
On the opposite side of the campus's main street lies the Cultural and Sports Center—a collection of four volumes, each varying in size, shape, and character. Playfully scattered across a landscaped slope. The landscape design resolves the site's vertical elevation changes and integrates a wide range of cultural and athletic functions. The "Grand Steps" is a transitional zone between the sports field and the Cultural and Sports Center, accommodating daily circulation, flag-raising ceremonies, ideal setting for choral performances, and other routine functions.
