Education project case study · 2017 LOPO archive
Jiadu Kindergarten: textured terracotta brick around a faceted courtyard
At Sanhe Yanjiao near Beijing, a three-part kindergarten curves around its south-facing playground. A restrained field of pale, irregularly textured facing brick gives the concrete building a consistent background for repeated windows, terraces and exterior stairs.
- Project
- Sanhe Yanjiao Jiadu Kindergarten
- Architecture listing name
- SanHe Kindergarten
- Location
- Muyan Road, Yanjiao Town, Sanhe City, Hebei, near Beijing
- Completion record
- 2017
- Architectural design
- OBRA Architects
- CADG record
- China Architecture Design & Research Group; role varies by source
- Programme / capacity
- Kindergarten; 18 classrooms for 540 children
- Area
- Conflicting 5,000 / about 5,500 / 5,550 m² records; see source table
- LOPO archive product
- Customized terracotta facing / facade brick
- Item / size / quantity
- Not stated in the checked LOPO records
A building arranged around play and outdoor circulation
The main building occupies the north side of the site and bends as a faceted arc around the playground. Project descriptions identify three wings and three levels. Repeated windows establish a regular facade field, while terraces and exterior stairs interrupt that order and connect classrooms more directly with the outdoor activity space.
The smaller connected volumes reduce the apparent scale of a programme designed for 540 children. The brick is visually important because its consistent tone and module run behind windows, corners, stairs and recesses; the photographs do not establish which wall component carries structural, moisture, thermal or fire functions.
Repeated window grid
Similar opening sizes create a steady elevation rhythm. Brick setting-out, cut units, heads, sills and jambs still require project drawings.
Terraces and stairs
Dark railings and projecting circulation break the homogeneous wall field. Interfaces, movement, drainage and edge conditions are concealed in the images.
Courtyard-facing arc
The faceted plan turns multiple elevations toward the playground. Corners and changes in plane become key brick and joint-coordination points.
Customized texture in the LOPO material record
LOPO’s 2017 project description says the facing brick was formed by extrusion, received a hand-applied trace on the face, and was sanded after firing to create irregular surface grain. This is a historical manufacturing description for the project—not a statement that the entire unit was handmade or that the same tooling and finish remain available.
The retained photographs show a light, muted brick field with visible unit-to-unit texture variation. They do not provide an item number, nominal size, tolerance, colour standard, firing range, mortar or joint specification, bond, quantity, attachment method or replacement-stock record. Any current reference should start with a physical sample and a project-specific mock-up.
Project records: confirmed facts and unresolved differences
| Field | Published record | Case-study treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Project name | LOPO uses “Sanhe Yanjiao Jiadu Kindergarten”; architecture media uses “SanHe Kindergarten.” The old page title misspelled Kindergarten as “Kindergarden.” | Use Jiadu Kindergarten in this LOPO case and retain SanHe Kindergarten as the architecture-listing name. |
| Location | LOPO’s project table gives Muyan Road, Yanjiao Town, Sanhe City. Architecture listings often simplify the location to Beijing or its outskirts. | State Sanhe City, Hebei, near Beijing; do not move the site into Beijing municipality. |
| Building area | LOPO’s project table gives 5,000 m²; the old terracotta-panel post says nearly 5,500 m²; a later architect-supplied description says 5,550 m² while its page metadata says 5,000 m². | Retain every figure with its source boundary; do not select one as a certified final area. |
| Residential development | The old post says nearly 20,000 m²; architect-supplied project text describes a development of about 2,000,000 m². | Treat the old 20,000 m² field as conflicting and omit a definitive surrounding-development area from the headline facts. |
| Design team | The 2017 LOPO table abbreviates the architect as “OBRA & CADG.” Later project metadata names OBRA Architects for architecture and China Architecture Design & Research Group for engineering. | Credit OBRA Architects for architectural design and keep CADG’s role qualified rather than calling both identical design authors. |
| Year / capacity | Project listings identify 2017 completion and 18 classrooms for 30 children each, totalling 540. The old post anticipated fall 2017 enrolment. | Use 2017 as the completion record and 540 as programme capacity, not current enrolment. |
| Awards | AIA New York confirms a 2014 Projects Merit Award for OBRA Architects’ Sanhe Kindergarten. LOPO also recorded a 2014 Kim Swoo Geun Preview award and a 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale invitation. | State the AIANY award as verified. Keep the other two only as dated LOPO archive claims because matching primary records were not located in this audit. |
| Brick product data | Customized facing brick and two surface operations are described; no item, dimensions or quantity appears in the checked LOPO sources. | Do not derive product specifications or quantities from images or building area. |
Using this precedent in a current education project
- current brick item, clay body, finish, colour range, dimensions, tolerances and manufacturing availability;
- physical samples that represent intended face texture, edges and acceptable variation;
- elevation setting-out, bond, joint width, cut-unit strategy, corners, bases, parapets and opening interfaces;
- the complete support or masonry build-up, substrate, movement, drainage, flashing and fire/cavity details;
- a representative visual and technical mock-up with written acceptance criteria;
- quantity, packing, delivery, site storage, installer responsibility and inspection records; and
- maintenance, damage assessment, replacement method and spare-stock plan.
The Jiadu Kindergarten is a useful reference for combining a quiet brick field with repeated openings and active outdoor circulation. It is not a reusable specification: current materials, details, engineering and project approvals must be established independently.
Explore current terracotta products and projects
Use the current product pages to review available context, then compare project precedents without transferring undocumented dimensions or performance.
Discuss a textured brick facade
Send the project location, elevations and details, colour and texture reference, proposed unit and bond, preliminary quantity, wall/support concept, required evidence, delivery destination and programme. Current samples and complete assemblies must be confirmed for the proposed building.