Designed independently and to be used solely by UIC, the new student living center- the “Culture and Arts Village”- will be completed in 2008 to accommodate 4,000 students with well-developed multifunctional living facilities.
UIC inherits the Hall Culture from HKBU. The Hall is not only a place for dinning and rest, but also a well designed part of the whole educational environment. It is a free and extensive space for social activities, and shares the equal importance with the classroom.
The “Culture and Arts Village” will have the following key words: canyon, brook, square; living, art, experience; innovative, open, active.
May 14, the reporter had an interview with Mr. Wu Hongyu to learn more about the design features of the “Culture and Arts Village”. Mr. Wu is the General Architect of BNU Zhuhai Campus and the Architect of UIC Living Center. According to his description, life in the beautiful canyon is worth expecting.
A Canyon among Hills, A Garden inside A Park
UIC campus locates at the foot of the stretching Phoenix Hill and merges into the BNU Zhuhai Campus. BNU Zhuhai Campus is famous for its natural and environmental-friendly general layout and its grand, elegant and artistic architectures. The layout design of BNU campus focuses on creating a “university park” that harmoniously merge into the natural environment. The UIC “Cultural and Arts Village” will be a unique “garden inside a park”.
The “Culture and Arts Village” is in a canyon surrounding by hills where a brook runs through. The greenery of the slopes and hills is reflected in the limpid brook, creating a concinnous natural environment where four 15-storey buildings, a comprehensive dinning and activity center, squares, and workshops for arts will be located. This multifunctional living center is not far from the UIC teaching district. The distance between the closest points is only about 100 m.
An Artistic Living Space
According to Mr. Wu, two rows of high buildings will be located along the hillside. This design fits into the natural terrain perfectly and can also save space for other constructions. The brook, street and open squares will leave a broad view in the middle of the Village. “The brook that runs through the canyon is the highlight of the whole design.” There will be small bridges over the brook. Small islands with open performing squares will be at the wider part of brook and there will be stones for students to walk across the brook where it is narrow. With greenery and flowers at both sides, arts workshops of different architectural styles and small squares strewing among randomly, the street along the brook will become a diversified and interesting activity space with a charming natural beauty.
The first floor of the dormitory buildings will be workshops of different decoration styles for artists in residence at UIC. The first and second floor will be an active and open public area with an artistic atmosphere for students to have experiential activities.
Mr. Wu said that student activities at UIC are colorful, and international. The “Cultural and Arts Village” will satisfy the requirements for various activities sufficiently.
Fine Details
The “Culture and Arts Village” emphasizes details and utility in design. The design adopts a unique “layer effect”. The buildings are clearly divided into two layers - the first and the second floor as one layer, while the above as another. Mr. Wu said that the first and the second floor were designed to be a busy public area and the above a quiet private space. The decoration, lighting and facilities in these two layers will be totally different. It is important to divide the busy area from the quiet. However, many college dormitories ignored this requirement in their design.
The decoration and facilities in the dormitories projects the effort of creating a comfortable and utilizable environment. Every student will have his own bed and desk. Different from most college dormitories in mainland China that place the bed overhead high above the desk, the bed in the dorm will be low on the floor. There will be two restrooms and showers in each dorm for four to reduce the inconvenience.
For traffic, according to Mr. Wu, pedestrians and motor vehicles will be separated strictly. Different walking paths can provide a freer and more relax environment for students.
Cheryl Chen/ Christy Zhao
Development & Public Relations Office
