Chadwick International School

KPF’s design for The Chadwick International School pioneers a model learning environment for the future and creates a fittingly aspirational educational facility for the new Songdo International Business District.

The school lies at the heart of a residential neighborhood in the KPF master planned Songdo IBD, a new city on the West Coast of Incheon, Korea.

The campus accommodates classrooms, offices, performing and fine-arts spaces and athletic facilities for 2,000 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Typical classroom and laboratory layouts promote an atmosphere of positive support and clear communication.

Individual building elements are linked together by a series of courtyards, creating a specific identity for the various age groups, each of which has its own outdoor space. Pedestrian movement is organized on east-west axes that offer extended views and unite larger zones, with shorter north-south axes intersecting these promenades. The lower school is a cluster of smaller buildings while the upper school is consolidated around an atrium to promote intellectual and social exchange.

Taking inspiration from traditional Korean garden design, stepped sections and sunken gardens separate age groups and create programmatic connections. At the heart of the courtyard sequence is a ‘town square’, a semi-amphitheater in view of all major program elements. In this way, the process of graduating from grade to grade can be traced as a journey through the school grounds.

Location

Incheon, South Korea

Client

NSIC (Gale International and POSCO E&C JV)

Team

Gansam (Associate Architect), Yoon (Interior Designer)

Type

Education

Size

47,000 m2 / 506,000 ft2

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Project Type:Education
Project Location:Asia Pacific