Shanghai American School, Puxi Campus Library Renovation

Shanghai, China

Firm

Perkins and Will

Client

Shanghai American School

Completion Date

08/2018

CreatAR

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A bold, yet focused space that fosters creativity and collaboration, the renovated library at Shanghai American School’s Puxi Campus is an energizing place of interactive learning. Perkins and Will worked with the school to create a future-ready, flexible library that prepares students for a competitive knowledge-based economy. It is named “The Hub” because of its central location and ability to serve as a meeting and gathering place.

Combining multiple user groups was a special consideration for this project. The team was tasked with creating a space for a high school and middle school library, middle school art department, and college counseling, in which all areas felt unique to their user groups but were united under a single design language. To do this, the plan creates specific areas visually separated by a carefully chosen color and materials palette. Strategically placed breakout areas and study spaces form nooks that can accommodate the needs of individuals and small groups; larger communal areas are acoustically separated, enabling some students to focus and others to socialize when desired.
The team increased the size of the exterior windows to let in plenty of daylight and connect to the outside, and a green wall of hanging plants complements a water feature integrated into the edge of a bleacher-style staircase. These nature-inspired design elements enhance feelings of serenity, mitigate stress and help students concentrate. A large new staircase encourages movement, and the new entrances celebrate the architecture of the building.

Students and staff enjoy a variety of spaces—flexible classrooms, meeting rooms of all sizes, a large multifunction space, teaching space for the middle school art department, and a recording room with a green screen. An Apple-style “genius bar” provides resources for students and faculty to get technology help. Collaborative areas as well as private study spaces ensure students can work as they need to, further mirroring the professional environments in which they will find themselves after graduation.

The renovated library creates multiple connections between floors, both visually with materiality and lighting, and physically with improved wayfinding and considerations for traffic flow. The reorganized entrances create welcoming, accessible entryways; they serve as connection points on all sides of the building and react to the organization and flow of the campus. The Puxi Campus Library now fosters future-ready learning and teaching in a bright, flexible space: a product of extensive collaboration between the design team and the school.