Concordia International School Shanghai (ciss) is an independent private day school for students Pre-K through Grade 12. following the master plan update and implementation of Phase iii - a new elementary school and arts center, the same architects moved onto the programming, planning and design of the final phase – a new high school building and renovation of the existing.

As the final leg of ciss’s phased master plan for expansion, the new high school facility is a physical manifestation of a student’s final threshold before moving onto college and post-graduate life. the maturity and freedom exhibited in the design of this building evokes the spirit with which the school hopes students will take with them as they move forward.

While we posted an article about the project when it was completed back in January, we are revisiting the project with more information and photographs with the series on the recipients of the 2010 Architecture for Education (CAE) Awards.

All images ⓒ ShuHe

The high school and elementary school design focuses on the experiential quality of architecture as an essential ingredient for meaningful learning. The design reinterprets the original character of the site, thereby imbuing the new experience with a rich and varied relationship to nature.

Through mountain views, sloping terrain, courtyards, bridges, and a tactile landscape of salvaged logs and boulders, nature enriches the learning environment. The site character is both the poetic inspiration for and an active participant in the daily experience of the users of the school.

The grey colour of the concrete dominates this 1.500m2 (16,000 sq ft) luxurious residence. It solidifies the building, bringing a sharp contrast with the surrounding landscape. Large openings puncture the concrete mass, making the most of the house’s surrounding view.

The site is located within a mature suburban neighborhood along the south shore of Farquar Lake.

The previously unbuilt land was heavily wooded with large oak, maple and cottonwood trees and a gentle slope from the road down to the lake. The shape of the property was long and triangular widening from the narrow south end at the street and opening much wider at the north edge along the lake. The site design strategy was to locate the house to screen views of adjacent homes and open to the north views of the lake while maintaining as many trees as possible.

Photographs © Paul Crosby

The project is a residence for a couple, doubling up as an office. The site is situated within a residential neighborhood, where the cost of land are among the highest in Tokyo, with the cluttered urban fabric typical to residential areas in downtown Tokyo. It is hard to say if the quality of living environment deserves the price of land.