After 10 years of planning and design efforts by Perkins Eastman, finally the Concordia International School Shanghai has seen completion. The 129,166-square-foot addition to the school’s multi-building education campus is a fitting architectural expression of the evolution of design, learning and sustainability. The new high school is a six-story complex that comprises a variety of academic, athletic and administrative functions.
The new high school gave CISS an opportunity to redesign the entire campus’ heating and cooling system by using highly efficient geothermal technology. It also has green roofs that accounts in reducing the heating and cooling demands. The light monitors placed over the gymnasium/events space see the largest portion of the green roof right above them. Other green credentials the structure flaunts are daylighting, natural ventilation and materials including bamboo and natural rubber flooring. Adjacent to the science suite is a habitable garden, which uses soil made from recycled crushed bricks.
The new high school is the fourth phase of a series of planning and design projects completed for the 10-acre school campus. The campus also includes an elementary school and performing arts center, which again is designed by Perkins Eastman. The structure incorporates 20 classrooms, 4 science classrooms, a world language lab and a number of seminar/group instruction rooms. To promote extra-curricular activities, the school has a 10,800-square-foot gymnasium containing two full-sized basketball courts, a weight room, a dance studio, a unique physical education interactive space and an outdoor climbing wall. The new facility is connected to the original shared facilities pavilion via a media commons bridge.
