MOMENTUM Architects has completed the reconstruction of Qingshan School, a groundbreaking educational facility that transforms an abandoned primary school site in Qingshan Village, Yuhang District of Hangzhou, China. The 1,740-square-meter project, completed in 2024, represents a revolutionary approach to rural education design that reconnects learning with village life while preserving cultural heritage.
The original school buildings on the site had severely deteriorated and become spatially outdated, making renovation impossible and necessitating complete demolition. However, MOMENTUM Architects chose to respect the site's original footprint and scale during the comprehensive reconstruction. The design team, led by Jian Ming Huang and including Haroon Ditta, Meng Fanqi, He Yiling, Hong Jiangming, and Sun Xingxian, aimed to create a student-centered environment that would reestablish educational facilities for the local community.
The architects conceptualized the new campus as a "learning village," fundamentally departing from traditional educational architecture that confines learning to enclosed classrooms. Instead, the design organizes multiple programmatic units around open courtyards, all connected by distinctive bamboo-woven corridors. This innovative spatial strategy allows education to occur not only indoors but also in fields, under trees, and along streams, effectively dissolving the boundary between school and landscape.
The interior spaces feature modular classrooms and flexible layouts specifically designed to support diverse pedagogical approaches, including group discussions, individual reflection, and hands-on experimentation. Semi-open corridors, stairwells, and platforms serve as informal extensions of traditional classroom spaces, enabling educational activities to unfold across the entire campus. The spatial design was developed in close collaboration with educators from the project's inception, ensuring alignment with children's cognitive development needs.
Currently, Qingshan School operates outside the formal state school system, functioning instead as a shared educational platform for rural study programs, summer camps, and community workshops. This "informal" status has proven to be a significant strength, as parents, villagers, and educators participate alongside children, transforming the facility into a civic hub that fosters intergenerational connections and cultural exchange.
The construction process emphasized locality and community participation through innovative material choices and building techniques. Earthen walls were crafted using village soil and traditional plastering techniques, while bamboo structures and timber details were constructed with assistance from local artisans and young volunteers. This approach transformed construction from merely a physical building process into a meaningful act of cultural transmission and community engagement.
While Qingshan School has not yet achieved formal recognition within China's education system, it serves as a prototype for the future of rural education. By rooting learning spaces in local land, community traditions, and indigenous crafts, the project redefines architecture's role beyond providing physical shelter to becoming a platform for social experimentation and cultural preservation. The architects hope that the school will eventually gain official recognition, but acknowledge that it already demonstrates how thoughtful design can inspire learning, connect communities, and reimagine educational possibilities in rural China.
