UAD's Innovative Campus Design Wins Silver A' Design Award

Zhejiang University's North Teaching Cluster: A Symphony of East and West, Classic and Modern

The North Teaching Cluster, located on the central axis of the ZJUIC campus, is a public hub that integrates campus culture, office spaces, conference areas, and teaching activities. The design is based on the concept of "1 axis, 2 circles, 3 centers, and 4 zones," with the round auditorium serving as the core of the complex. Other buildings, including lecture halls, the business school, and the administration building, are symmetrically arranged around this core. The buildings are interconnected through floating platforms and corridors, reflecting the core concept of "Round Auditorium, Open Courtyards & Alleys."

UAD's design adds a sense of modernity, straightness, simplicity, and transparency to the facades by retaining the textures of red bricks, simplifying the skirtings, and using modern building elements like glass curtain walls, steel-structured corridors, and metal roofs. Chinese elements, such as Chinese-style brick patterns, wooden semi-pavilion stages, and glass arch printings, are also added to the red-brick facades, creating a symphony of both the classic and modern, the Eastern and Western.

The design enhances the guidance, fluidity, openness, and publicity of the building complex by bridging the site's north-south corridors and setting clear open spaces and routes. These routes effectively promote interaction and integration among varying building complexes and between different functional areas on the campus.

The design draws inspiration from worldwide architectural spaces and facades. The square space outside the round auditorium is inspired by amphitheaters in ancient Rome, while the semi-enclosed seating area inside the auditorium draws on the spatial form of Harvard University. The building facades continue the architectural symbols of the old Zhijiang Campus of ZJU, evoking a resonance of the classical and modern, the Eastern and Western.

The design project, which took place from March 1, 2014, to May 31, 2015, faced several challenges. These included maintaining the campus's design concept, creating a sense of openness while enhancing its connection with surroundings, and developing campus spaces and facade forms that are both classic and modern, Eastern and Western. Despite these challenges, UAD's innovative design has been recognized for its outstanding expertise and innovation, earning it a Silver A' Design Award.

In conclusion, UAD's design for the North Teaching Cluster of ZJUIC is a testament to the harmonious integration of Eastern and Western architectural styles, classic and modern elements. It is a design that not only enhances the functionality and aesthetics of the campus but also promotes interaction and integration among varying building complexes and between different functional areas on the campus. This innovative design approach has earned UAD a well-deserved Silver A' Design Award.