Breaking News: Dominique Perrault Drops Jaws with Revolutionary Campus Design for Shenzhen Institute of Design!

In an exciting development for the world of architecture, French studio Dominique Perrault Architecture and local architect Zhubo Design have been selected to design a new campus for the Shenzhen Institute of Design and Innovation in China. The campus will form one of the new sites of the Southern University of Science and Technology and will be a world-class facility that can accommodate around 4,000 students. The project was selected through an open application process that saw 37 successful teams selected, including renowned offices such as MVRDV and Studio Libeskind.

The site for the new campus is located on the outskirts of Shenzhen, in a still mainly rural area along the mountain relief of "Phoenix Mountain". The project has been carefully integrated into the landscape to ensure that no prominent architectural element would disturb the "plateau" geography of the site. Inspired by the Chinese character " -- ", which reflects the atmosphere of a line of mountain and water, the project creates a large-scale landmark, a horizontal line on the site that is detached from the ground like a large bridge and develops a built front of more than 700 meters long.

One of the standout features of the new campus will be the "Hyper-Ground" and the "Hyper-Roof" elements. The functional organization of the campus is simple and intuitive, articulated around these two main elements. The main volume is hung above the ground, which maintains visual transparency at the pedestrian level and guarantees views towards the great landscape. It creates a protective shelter, hosting public spaces and gardens, punctuated by "domes" housing various easily identifiable academic functions. The student's and professors' housing consists of several "villages", offering terraced architecture with patios.

The preferred materials for the project are metal and glass. The large windows are punctuated by thin vertical lines of light metal that provide natural lighting for all the working spaces and wide views of the landscape. The vibrations of the envelope, between the white and emerald tones of glass metal, will constantly vary its appearance, so the building will be perceived differently depending on the angles of approach, the seasons, or the time of day. The reflections unify the composition and preserve the interior activity from outside views. Finally, the constructive principles and the arrangement of the spaces allow great flexibility in the interior design and the possibility of imagining possible future developments of the campus.

This project is part of the city of Shenzhen's ambitious plans to create a high-level international school in response to the increasing demand for talent in the field of design, not just in Shenzhen but in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao bay. The city has launched numerous international competitions for the creation of large-scale cultural and sports facilities, attracting architects from around the world. Alongside the new campus of the Shenzhen Institute of Design and Innovation, there is an impressive list of new projects that will assert the city as an internationally recognized innovation centre. These include the Shenzhen Opera House, the Shenzhen Exhibition Center, the Design Museum, the Shenzhen National Museum, the Museum of Science and Technology, the Oceanographic Museum, the Nature Museum, the Shenzhen Museum of Art, and the Shenzhen Music Conservatory.

The Shenzhen Institute of Design and Innovation project will undoubtedly be a key addition to this growing list of projects. With the selection of Dominique Perrault Architecture and Zhubo Design, we can be sure that the new campus will be a world-class facility that will attract students and faculty from around the world. The combination of modern design and traditional Chinese elements is sure to create a unique and visually stunning project that will stand the test of time.

In conclusion, the selection of Dominique Perrault Architecture and Zhubo Design to design the new campus.

Cover image © dominique perrault architect (DPA), adagp.