03 / Rebirth in the Embrace

- The Elderly Learning Center towards Active Aging

What can new architecture embrace the heritage? What can architects do to reconnect the elderly with the society?

Time:2022.02 — 2022.05

Instructor: Maycon Sedrez, Eugenio Mangi, Yimin Su

Site Location: Sanjiangkou area, Ningbo, China

Thesis:This project proposes an elderly learning centre in the city of Ningbo, southeast China. It seeks to provide formal and informal learning experiences for elderly citizens considering the fast growth of aging population in China. By providing permeable and open ground spaces, as well as programs that respond to the context, the project creates opportunities for interaction and communication between elderly and youngsters.

The design strategy proposes a gesture to embrace the heritage, renovating the existing historical buildings to a library. To provide a recognizable historical perspective, the project introduces a typical street and courtyard type into the design. The project considers the landscape design of the masterplan, composed of green corridors, connecting green to the inner courtyard. Based on the texture of historical buildings around the site and using a contemporary language, the architecture embodies spaces with affinity scale. Similar to the design method of Chinese Traditional Gardens, the scenery is implicitly hidden in the building. It encourages people to explore the spaces when entering the building. Underground spaces were designed in order to respect the height of the historical buildings. The new building adopts lightweight facade materials contrasting with the historical ones.

(This studio work got the RIBA President Medal Award Nominated Entry in 2022)

Location: Xiaowen Comminity, Haishu, Ningbo, China

Site Area: 3750sqm

Building Area: 3500sqm