“The environment is a third teacher for children.” How to create maximum outdoor activity space on a limited site is the starting point of the design. In order to let children perceive nature and the urban environment on the campus better, we propose the design concept of a “Terraced campus, Bonsai landscape”. The overall architecture of the campus is lower in the south and higher in the north, relieving the spatial pressure of the buildings on the south side of the block. At the same time, it forms a striking campus image along the interface of the secondary road on the north side. The staggered terraces presented on the western interface enhance the site’s horizontal characteristics.

As the “blank space” in the mature block, the campus becomes a part of the landscape of the city. The west side gives way to the street moderately, which is not only the pick-up place for children to go to and from school but also improves the public quality of the street.

The “Terrace Garden” connects the ground floor with all the roofs through the colorful staircase, creating a maximized outdoor activity space and encouraging children of all ages to interact with each other. The gardens on each floor become the scenery from the classroom windows. During outdoor activities, children can easily reach the activity space and play in gardens with various themes, while gaining an open view and rich perception of urban public space experience.

Below the Terrace Garden is a children’s settlement with multiple themes. With a courtyard as the core of each part of the architecture, different classroom units are linked by corridors. The plaza, steps, “niches” and other types of spaces of different scales are like the “holes” of the miniature city-like campus, accommodating diverse activities from collective to individual and making the circulating campus space a truly ubiquitous place for informal education .

The north side of the site is a lush urban green belt, while Spathodea campanulata at the northwest corner of the site blooms vibrantly. We set up the open floor square on the north side to borrow the scenery of the surroundings. The two-story high open floor serves as both a spatial hub for public classrooms and the largest square of the campus, which facilitates children’s outdoor activities during the hot and rainy seasons. The ‘submarine’ themed playground equipment is set up in the square, and combined with the set of columns and corridors in the square, an aerial adventure tour accompanied by trees is constructed.

The rounded corners, starting from the need for safety when children play and run; the low windowsill is the seat for children to chat in the corridor; Projecting windows, hollow corridors, open floors, terraces and eaves, these cost-economic architectural phrases combined with various greenery not only effectively adapt to the hot city weather, but also constitute a “cave” like building facade. The campus responds to the coastal cityscape of the Shenzhen Bay area with highly recognizable children’s architectural forms. The terrace campus, which provides children with unique experiences, is also a playful bonsai landscape in a high-density urban city.