Hangzhou Pule Kindergarten Yangjiadun Branch, covering a total construction area of approximately 7,800 square meters, is located in Binjiang District of Hangzhou, a region packed with high-tech industries including Alibaba and rising in rankings among districts in Hangzhou. In recent years, the district has set higher demands for educational facilities. In this case, the architects managed to build an "attractive" children’s facility with a modular idea and a rapid construction method under the limited construction period and costs.

The application of "hexagon" motif in Pule   Kindergarten has turned the unfavorable conditions of site restrictions into design highlights. Surrounded by high-rise buildings, the sunlight conditions on the site are not that optimistic. There is an angle of 60 ° between the diamond land and the south direction. Given the fact that it is impossible for daylighting orientation, sunshine duration and land efficiency to reach their ideal state at the same time by adopting a traditional orthogonal grid layout, the "hexagon" motif thus becomes a problem-solving idea as hexagon is the most common form in nature and boasts the dual advantages of "complete filling" and "most efficient". The combination of hexagonal beehives conforms to the slope angle of the site to introduce maximum daylight, while taking into account many requirements such as good orientation, sunshine duration and the fit rate of the site. 

The "hexagon" motif creates lots of non-right-angled spaces, which are in line with the nature of children to explore and play. In order to further break the monotonous corridor pattern, a zigzag "active space" was marked out as skeleton to connect each space unit. On the other hand, to ensure children's outdoor activities in the cramped field, the architects managed to extend the space in three dimensions. The building retreats along the city road layer by layer, forming a cascade of roof terraces with different elevations, which is open to students as an extension of the activity space on the ground.
The project selects materials based on innovation with limited costs. The exterior finish layer uses white corrugated color steel plate based on traditional masonry window and wall system, and the entrance canopy uses bamboo steel to create a fresh and cozy architectural atmosphere. The main structure on the ground adopts a multi-layer steel frame system to meet the requirement of assembly rate, and the pre-processing method in the factory reduces the wet construction work greatly. Finally, through ingenious space and construction strategies, the architects managed to create a children’s building with affinity and attractiveness under severe conditions.