Minghao Wang

About

I’m Minghao Wang, born in Zibo City, Shandong Province, China. My project is titled “Architectural Forms and Educational Objectives: From Mat-Buildings to Chinese Middle School.” It looks at how school building designs relate to educational goals in China, and how design can make education better. Although current education reforms have had some success, there are still problems with school environments and designs that make it hard to reach these goals. I chose this project for three main reasons. First, my personal experiences and observations. Since my parents are teachers, I lived in school staff housing for several years. As part of the Chinese education system, I deeply understand the limits that traditional school designs put on students’ learning and growth. Second, I am very interested in the connection between building design and education, especially how new designs can improve learning spaces and quality. Finally, by studying mat-building and de-schooling theories, I hope to provide new ideas and a strong base for future school designs, helping to improve education.

First, I reviewed literature to understand mat-building and de-schooling theories, and the recent history of China’s development. Through this, I learned the background, ideas, and uses of mat-building and de-schooling theories, and the reasons for the limits in Chinese school design. Henri Lefebvre’s “The Production of Space” talks about the layout of socialist cities, using the practice of unit compounds and people’s communes to explain how campus environments and school buildings were influenced. Unit compounds included housing, schools, canteens, and other facilities, aiming to promote collectivism and social unity through centralized living and working spaces.

Mat-building focuses on modularity, flexibility, and openness, creating spaces that promote social interaction and community cohesion. The most notable feature of mat-building is its outward boundaries and inward fuzziness. Alison, based on her study of the ancient city of Kuwait, viewed mat-building as a naturally developed urban form. Alison proposed mat-building to oppose the highly rational and functional spaces of modernism, encouraging diversity, emotion, and individual choice in the city. This shows that traditional Chinese architecture also exhibits characteristics of mat-building.

In my research, I analyzed three case studies: Qingyi River Road Primary School, Zhoucun District No. 1 Middle School, and Wangcun Town Middle School. Through these cases, I explored how the application of mat-building can improve school environments, promote students’ self-directed learning and social interaction, and its practical effects within the Chinese educational context.

In the future, I am interested in exploring fields such as historical studies or aesthetic anthropology. I have observed that the rigidity and functionalism in Chinese middle school architecture can partly be understood as a cultural and aesthetic discontinuity brought about by the full endorsement of Western capitalist culture following the economic reforms (transition from a planned economy to a state-controlled market economy). China rapidly adopted many Western modern architectural concepts, focusing particularly on functionality and practicality. This design approach was crucial in the context of rapid economic growth as it could quickly meet the demand for many new schools. However, this orientation neglected spatial diversity and human-centered design, leading to monotonous and rigid campus environments. The reverence for technology also led to a period of overlooking local culture and traditional aesthetics.