Yew Chung International School, Chongqing

The Yew Chung International School Chongqing Secondary Campus was envisioned as a highly innovative secondary learning environment for creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and future-ready education — rooted in Yew Chung’s philosophy of bilingual and bicultural education. Moving away from traditional classroom-and-corridor planning, the campus is organized as a network of interconnected Learning Communities — collaborative commons, flexible Learning Studios, Learning Suites, small-group rooms, Active Labs, and teacher collaboration spaces — each designed to support inquiry-based, project-based, interdisciplinary, and collaborative learning.

The architectural concept draws on Chongqing’s dramatic Bayu landscape, fog-filled hillsides, and layered urban character. Rather than dominating its site, the building massing shifts and interlocks with the surrounding terrain, building strong visual and spatial relationships to the landscape while maximizing daylight, views, and environmental responsiveness; its exterior blends contemporary educational architecture with materials, colors, and forms drawn from the regional vernacular and natural setting.

Throughout, shared spaces — a Global Learning Center, Café Commons, a flexible theater and Performance Commons, DaVinci Studios, ecological roof gardens, outdoor terraces, and collaborative gathering stairs — blur the boundaries between academic learning, social life, the arts, STEM, and environmental education. Outdoor classrooms, roof gardens, edible landscapes, and study terraces extend learning into the landscape, advancing Yew Chung’s commitment to holistic, inquiry-driven, and globally focused education and establishing a bold vision for secondary education in China.