Run on the roof if you have no room
In China's Taizhou, a fast-growing city in Zhejiang province, schools have been struggling with a recognisable problem for years: lack of space. Population growth, urban densification and limited available land make it difficult to provide sufficient exercise and play space for children. But where others saw the limitation, Chinese architecture firm LYCS Architecture saw an opportunity.
In 2014, they presented a revolutionary design: the Tiantai No. 2 Primary School, a modern primary school where lack of space is not a constraint, but a driving force for innovation. The building is not only a clever stacking of classrooms, but on top of the roof it houses a full 200-metre athletics track, complete with a basketball court, green areas and seating areas. What normally takes metres at street level, they have simply realised at height.
Het resultaat? .
A compact, safe and future-proof school that lets children not only learn, but also move, play and relax, in the middle of the city, literally between the clouds. A project that proves: with guts, vision and smart design, even the roof becomes a place that offers social and educational added value.
Why this project matters
More and more cities worldwide are facing the same challenge: how to accommodate growing populations and facilities while space is scarce? Especially in densely built-up areas, the battle for square metres is palpable. Housing, traffic, offices, they all demand their place. So what is often the first to perish? Exercise and playing space for children.
LYCS Architecture took a different approach.
On the roof, they realised a full 200-metre athletics track, a 100-metre sprint track, a basketball court, seating areas and even green zones. This moved not only the sports court to the roof, but also an important part of the social and healthy space for students.
This clever division left more than 3,000 square metres free on the ground floor. That space will be used for spacious classrooms, wide corridors and green meeting areas where students can play, learn and relax.
So the project does much more than just save space:
✔ It increases pupils' freedom of movement without the need for additional land. ✔ It creates a safe, enclosed outdoor space, high above busy city life. ✔ It strengthens the relationship between the school and the neighbourhood, as the building is literally more open and inviting. ✔ It gives the school a powerful, modern profile that combines health, meeting and education.
“... a living ecosystem of six diverse sports clubs, innovative infrastructure concepts and meaningful partnerships that serve the community at large.”
Architecture that revolves around the learner
LYCS' design philosophy is clear: "students' spatial behaviour experience first." This means that it is not the functional spaces, classrooms, corridors, sports halls that take centre stage, but how students move, meet and experience.
Key design aspects:
- The track lies on a concrete subfloor, with a three-layer security system: 1.8 m glass wall, 0.5 m greenery behind it and a 1.2 m stainless steel railing
- There are damping layers under the treadmill to reduce noise and vibrations essential for classes underneath .
- The roof offers both safety and adventure: a place to run, jump and play, without traffic hazards or lack of space.
Smart, safe city solution with neighborhood impact
The Tiantai No. 2 Primary School is not just another stacked building. It has a smart, oval shape with a central courtyard and inward-facing facades. That layout provides calm, overview and safety for the children. No open, cluttered corners, but a closed unit where the school and playground are fully protected.
LYCS Architecture gave this an extra twist. Tilting the building 15 degrees from the plot created more space along the edges of the site. Those outer zones are used for green strips, stairs and entrance plazas. In this way, the school is not only safe and compact, but also easily accessible and friendly towards the neighbourhood.
Thanks to this thoughtful set-up and the multifunctional roof design:
✔ Do children get plenty of safe outdoor space, high above the hustle and bustle of the city. ✔ Does the footprint remain limited, eliminating the need for additional valuable land. ✔ Gets the neighbourhood a literal view of the school, with an inviting and green character. ✔ Does the roof become not only a sports place, but also a social heart for the school and surrounding area.
The school is thus no longer an anonymous, closed building in the neighbourhood, but a lively and smart solution that literally reclaims space, for children and for the city.
Impact and international recognition
The Tiantai No. 2 Primary School was not just an innovative design, it was a real first. It was the very first school in China with a full-fledged athletics track and rooftop sports facilities. That combination of creative use of space, safety and architectural quality attracted worldwide attention.
The images of the striking red running track, on top of the school building, went viral. Major international platforms, news channels and architecture websites paid attention to the project. Not only because of its appearance, but mainly because it provides a concrete answer to a recognisable problem: lack of safe, green and exercise-friendly space in densely built-up cities.
The impact was not limited to media attention. The school also picked up several prestigious awards.
To this day, the project is also used internationally as an example of smart, future-oriented and socially relevant school design. Tiantai proved that lack of space is no excuse, provided you dare to look up.