After pandemic-related stops and starts, Wenzhou-Kean University’s Ge Hekai Hall has finally begun to see full occupancy. Located in Wenzhou, China, about five hours south of Shanghai, Ge Hekai Hall serves as the front door to the university’s 175-acre campus. Designed by Moore Ruble Yudell, Ge Hekai Hall houses three schools, including architecture and design, for Wenzhou-Kean University, a joint venture between New Jersey’s Kean University and China’s Wenzhou University.
Ge Hekai Hall’s gateway portico nods to both the surrounding mountain landscape and the high-rise residential towers across the street. The structure comprises eight buildings that contain classrooms, offices, shops, and a library. Evoking traditional Chinese alleyway neighborhoods, the alleys between the buildings provide light and air, multiple entries, and spaces for informal interaction. Accessible 24/7, the building’s rooftops are connected by a network of bridges. Atop these linear buildings sit two high-bay studio loft buildings.
“The building design concept revolves around sets of dualities: China’s past and future, building techniques old and new, and a set of orthogonal lower buildings supporting an active, angular upper building,” Christopher Chan, AIA, principal-in-charge of the project at Moore Ruble Yudell, said in a statement.
At the intersection of the lower and upper buildings, a civic-scaled atrium called the Forum serves as a community and social hub, an extension of the classrooms, and an 800-person event venue for the entire university.
Designed to LEED Gold and China Two-Star standards, the building integrates facade sunshades, a photovoltaic array, rainwater harvesting, thermal massing with a heat recovery system, and a passively cooled atrium. To enhance wellness, the design provides ample indirect sunlight and biophilic elements, such as over 2,000 square meters of solid wood. In addition, the building provides only the code minimum number of elevators, encouraging people to use the stairs in the Forum atrium.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Wenzhou-Kean University
Design architect, interior design, and landscape design: Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners
Associate architect: Tongji University Architecture Design Research Institute
Architect of record: Zhongtian Construction Architectural Design Institute
Structural, civil, and MEP engineer: Zhongtian Construction Group Company Limited
Building and atrium lighting designer: Brandston Partnership Incorporated (BPI)
General contractor: Zhongtian Construction Group Company Limited
![WKU aerial](/sites/default/files/inline-images/WKU%20aerial%20.png)
![WKU int](/sites/default/files/inline-images/WKU%20int.png)
Related Stories
| Jun 8, 2012
Thornton Tomasetti/Fore Solutions provides consulting for renovation at Tufts School of Dental Medicine
Project receives LEED Gold certification.
| Jun 8, 2012
Chestnut Hill College dedicates Jack and Rosemary Murphy Gulati complex
Casaccio Yu Architects designed the 11,300-sf fitness and social complex.
| Jun 1, 2012
New BD+C University Course on Insulated Metal Panels available
By completing this course, you earn 1.0 HSW/SD AIA Learning Units.
| Jun 1, 2012
K-State Olathe Innovation Campus receives LEED Silver
Aspects of the design included a curtain wall and punched openings allowing natural light deep into the building, regional materials were used, which minimized the need for heavy hauling, and much of the final material included pre and post-consumer recycled content.
| May 31, 2012
2011 Reconstruction Award Profile: Seegers Student Union at Muhlenberg College
Seegers Student Union at Muhlenberg College has been reconstructed to serve as the core of social life on campus.
| May 31, 2012
New School’s University Center in NYC topped out
16-story will provide new focal point for campus.
| May 31, 2012
Perkins+Will-designed engineering building at University of Buffalo opens
Clad in glass and copper-colored panels, the three-story building thrusts outward from the core of the campus to establish a new identity for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the campus at large.
| May 29, 2012
Reconstruction Awards Entry Information
Download a PDF of the Entry Information at the bottom of this page.
| May 24, 2012
2012 Reconstruction Awards Entry Form
Download a PDF of the Entry Form at the bottom of this page.
| May 9, 2012
Shepley Bulfinch given IIDA Design award for Woodruff Library?
The design challenges included creating an entry sequence to orient patrons and highlight services; establishing a sense of identity visible from the exterior; and providing a flexible extended-hours access for part of the learning commons.