Abstract
In August 2020, the government of Jiangsu Province clarified the overall thinking, objectives, tasks and work measures of the construction of Beautiful Jiangsu. The construction of Yao Fangmen Livable District in Qixia District of Nanjing is an exploration and practice in the construction of Beautiful Jiangsu. In the street survey and interview, a large number of residents expressed their desire to provide a waiting space for parents at the school gate. School leaders also expressed their hope to solve the traffic jam at the school gate during school hours, and children were also eager to increase the space for playing. The ‘School Waiting District’ is a small area, reflecting hot issues such as education, parent-child, home and school, and school location. It is like a social kaleidoscope, but it is often ignored. In response to these demands, we conducted in-depth research, from the perspective of meeting the needs of various groups, to analyze the deep meaning of ‘Waiting’, namely, ‘Waiting is the transmission of love, Waiting is the exchange of heart, Waiting is the sharing of joy’. The livable school district is not a single school place, but can change and share at different times. It is not only a waiting space for parents to communicate, but also a game space for students to play after class, and a shared space for local residents to enjoy leisure and exercise. Here, waiting is no longer just waiting, but a variety of possibilities! We put forward the design concepts of ‘Time-sharing’, ‘Traffic Control’ and ‘Child-friendly Design’, and opened a new entrance on the wall outside the campus of Qixia Experimental Primary School, transforming a waste building material yard into a waiting school district. We have carried on the integrated design to the campus wall, have carried on the humanized transformation to the site landscape. During the design process, block managers, school administrators, parents, students and residents were all involved in the design, and every detail reflected the voice of the users. During the epidemic, the project continued to be discussed and promoted through online meetings. In coordination with related departments many times over a long period of time, after the outbreak, the waiting district went into the tense construction. In late 2020, the new school waiting district was put into use, obtaining high recognition of local residents and admiration. It is a bright spot project of Yao Fangmen Livable District, and it provides a good example of the Construction of Beautiful Jiangsu. The project won the Gold Prize of Jiangsu Provincial Purple Design Competition in 2019.
