Dushan School Complex develops the local academy tradition associated with Yingshan culture into a family of courtyards for contemporary learning and everyday life. The sequence of courts organising the buildings of the old Dushan Academy provides a spatial reference for the new campus. Taking the courtyard as its basic unit, the design brings teaching, reading, sport and living into relation. Variations in scale, enclosure and openness create settings ranging from lively communal spaces to quieter places for study.

The campus comprises four courtyard groups. Teaching spaces and the covered playground form a group of parallel courts, while administration and the library form a quiet, compact group. Student accommodation is arranged in two further groups: one places dormitories above a canteen organised around several courtyards; the other consists of dormitories enclosing an independent court, creating a quiet residential setting.

Along the western edge, next to the expressway, a relatively continuous, closed facade forms a visual and acoustic barrier, while the buildings open towards their courts. At the northern end, the teaching building’s undulating roofline echoes the surrounding hills. Cement render and white exterior paint suit the available materials and local construction methods, keeping workmanship and finish manageable. Daylight and sharp, shifting shadows animate the plain white surfaces. Changes in enclosure, routes and light give the restrained campus a varied spatial character.