Loujiang Kindergarten covers an area of 9,542 square meters with a building area of 9,013 square meters. The design accommodates 7 tracks and 21 classes. The design takes into full consideration the direct and indirect impacts of the 110kV substation and garbage transfer station located on the south side of the site, especially the concerns and worries of parents regarding these facilities. The design team aims to minimize the influence of these unfavorable factors on the project and alleviate parents’ concerns and worries through rational architectural and landscape design techniques. The building is shifted further north based on the setback requirements on the south side, increasing the green area. It is intended to form a natural barrier between the kindergarten and the substation and garbage transfer station through a dense landscape belt. The building, enclosed in the form of “building blocks,” enhances the safety and reliability of the kindergarten. The internal courtyard created by the building enclosure serves as an outdoor playground, plantation, and landscape space for the children. The combination and stacking of the “building blocks” create an interesting architectural volume, while appropriate cantilevers and indentations allow the internal courtyard to maintain privacy while engaging with the surrounding urban fabric and initiating a dialogue.

The project is located east of Hongqi Road and north of Zhenchuan Road. It is adjacent to a completed high-rise residential area to the north and a planned high-rise residential area to the east. The south side is adjacent to a 110kV substation, a garbage transfer station, and an emergency center. Except for the relatively open western side along the road, the eastern and northern sides are dominated by imposing high-rise residential buildings, while the presence of the substation and garbage transfer station on the south side presents additional challenges to the design of the kindergarten, both in terms of the environment and psychological factors.

The building, enclosed in the form of “building blocks,” blocks out external disturbances, especially those from the substation and garbage transfer station on the south side. The courtyard formed by the enclosure creates an outdoor play space exclusively for children, allowing them to play carefree. The regular and continuous forms, with varying heights in certain areas, resemble “building blocks,” adding richness to the overall morphology and expanding the building’s visual perspectives.

The building faces north and is lower in the south and higher in the north. The main entrance is located on the east side, facing the planned Hongqi Road. There are a certain number of surface parking spaces on the north side of the main entrance. The logistics entrance is arranged at the northwest corner of the site. A landscape belt is designed on the south side of the building to block unfavorable factors. The main classroom units, as the primary spaces of the kindergarten, are located on the south side of the building, both in the southern and northern blocks, to ensure ample natural light. Logistics and supply rooms are mainly arranged in the western block, while administrative offices, classrooms, and the cafeteria are located above the logistics and supply rooms. Special classrooms such as the multipurpose hall, reading room, and music room are scattered at the turning points of the building blocks. The internal courtyard formed by the building enclosure adopts the concept of “planetary orbit,” dividing the site into several sections representing independent outdoor activity spaces for different classes. The “planetary center” features a treehouse, sand pits, and a water pool for shared use.

The landscape design of Loujiang Kindergarten revolves around the theme of natural cycles and features a planetary map of the solar system in the central area. With large trees and a treehouse as the centerpiece, the diverging planetary orbits enclose different sports fields. This concept is extended to the urban space outside the kindergarten through unique paving, creating a neighborhood filled with childlike wonder. The green spaces surrounding the building are adorned with plants that represent the four seasons, expressing the cycle of nature. Inside Loujiang Kindergarten, special landscape spaces are designed for children to observe nature. For example, in the southeastern planting garden, crops are grown to allow older children to observe the influence of the lunar calendar on vegetation. The northeastern rainwater pool serves as both a collection reservoir for rainwater and a laboratory for children to learn about weather changes.