Western Academy of Beijing

Self-directed learning is thriving in the prototype learning landscapes at the Western Academy of Beijing. We have replaced the school's traditional classrooms with an open community structure that enhance student agency and support project-based learning.

The designs present differentiated and variable spaces that support the school’s FLoW21 targets for team-teaching, flexible learning groups, mentorship and individualized timetables.

Throughout the prototype areas, our design strategy is taking inspiration from the IB program’s Theory of Knowledge. The learning environments are themed by the Areas of Knowledge – like the community for mathematics in middle school and the multidisciplinary library in high school. Within each learning landscapes, ten differentiated spaces enable both students and teachers in the learning community to work with Ways of Knowing and flexible learning activities. Here they encounter customized frameworks for Movement, Construction, Stillness, Sound, Lab, Bio, Theatre, Library, Writing & Drawing and Exhibition & Lounge Courtyard.

In the learning space design, we activate the wealth of Chinese culture in a modern framework for learning. Dragon paths, moon gates and Chinese courtyard structures shape the identity of the new imaginative learning environments for the international students, representing more than 50 nationalities.