让阳光洒进来：启明星学校D+剧院开建！

到访校园几次之后，负责启明星D+剧院设计的主建筑师马笑漪渐渐有种感觉：物理环境带来的直观感受正在褪去，社区里的人物倒是越发生动、立体——

“无论学生还是老师，他们平和的外表下都透出专注、快乐的劲头和蓬勃的活力。我很希望把他们这样的精神状态呈现出来。”马笑漪说，“另外，D+是小而美的启明星校园里最大的公共设施，要实现多种用途。除了戏剧和舞蹈演出需要全黑的舞台外，其他的用途更倾向于自然采光。为启明星设计一座‘阳光剧院’的想法由此诞生。‘阳光剧院’不只是功能上的需要，更是为了呈现学生和老师们内心里阳光一般的温暖和活力！”

马笑漪毕业于清华大学和麻省理工学院，她创建的事务所10年来一直深耕教育建筑设计。启明星充满活力和温情的氛围，以及D+阳光剧院的大胆设想，促使她对传统剧院建筑的设计范式做出多项突破：

高度灵活的空间安排突破单一的演出功能；

充足的自然采光而非倚赖人工照明；

启明星独有的原生态色调取代传统剧院的明艳色彩......

效果图

2024年春天，图纸上的D+将逐步走进现实，预计在年底启用。到时候，这座综合性剧院的诸多功用会逐步解锁，真正实现艾毅教育集团创始人、启明星学校执行校董许尚杰的“D+”创意：

D+首先是一所剧院，但不只是一所剧院……

D+剧院共计400座，采用电动折叠座椅，座位宽度达到大剧院的舒适标准。当伸缩座椅堆叠起来时，观众厅就开放成了一个高7米、边长16米的正方形空间，承载学校最频繁的日常活动。观众厅吊顶内暗藏21个电动升降会标杆，可以根据活动需要悬挂宣传品和艺术品。

效果图

舞台宽19米，进深9米，可容纳30席的小型交响乐团。天幕配合20000流明的工程级投影仪，能将影像覆盖整个舞台，塑造宏大的演出背景。剧院将配备专业的舞台灯光、音频和视频设备，支持各种类型的会议和演出。

观众厅两侧的外墙开启高低错落的玻璃窗，将阳光凝聚为一盏盏明灯。窗洞口的斜面将光线漫射到大厅里。舞台背景墙的16米宽、5.5米高的玻璃幕墙连通南侧的露天剧院。灿烂的阳光和葱翠的树木取代舞美，成为演出、集会和其他各类活动的背景。玻璃幕墙中间部分可以平移打开。这将是北京第一个双向的舞台，它联系了室内外两个观众席，将艺术与自然融为一体，实现了真正的“阳光剧院”。

效果图

观众厅吊顶、墙面的不规则形状和各个细部的设计有效地支持声音在大厅内的扩散和反射。对于音乐类演出，剧院可以完全支持自然声的传播，无需额外的扩音设备，观众将享受到高保真的音质。

D+也包含餐厅，在扩容之后达到450座，可供全校师生分两次用餐，无需长时间等候。

观众厅后端与餐厅上下两层共4个门连通。在演出和活动期间，餐厅既是服务观众的剧院前厅，提供茶点、等候和交流设施，也是演员们的后台，可以快速建立更衣、化妆和休息区。

最具特色的是餐厅夹层，名为论坛（FORUM），可通过活动隔段分隔为1个、2个或3个空间的不同组合，并通过屋顶的山坡造型和透声材质营造专业的声环境，用于课程、会议、接待、交流、排练和小型演奏会等各类活动。

无限空间组合

启明星的校园小而美，要求D+的功能高度集约，承载演出、集会、开放日、毕业典礼等诸多活动，所以D+采用大学里广泛使用的电动移动座椅来实现几乎无限的空间组合；

突破传统的自然采光

除了戏剧和舞蹈演出需要全黑场景外，大多数活动是倾向于自然采光的。观众厅的立面造型和舞台南侧的玻璃幕墙引入了大量自然光。双向舞台的设计将室内外空间融合起来，这将是北京地区的第一个双向的舞台；

罕见的中性色

传统的剧院色彩都是浓烈的，比如红色或金色，实验剧场可能是蓝色或绿色的。而启明星剧院还要承担包括画展、开放日等多种特殊用途，过度定义它的色调可能会和活动主题冲突，浓烈的色彩也和启明星的气质有些违和，于是最终选用的是不同于寻常剧院的原生态材质和中性色调。

“剧院的设计体现了卓越——启明星的一项核心价值观。关于剧院空间的安排和考虑、设计和使用方面的现代性和灵活性，提供了一个绝佳的场所，让我们能够继续完善学校的教育，为我们的学生追求卓越提供全方位的支持。”启明星学校执行总校长Daniel Williams说。

“剧院空间的灵活安排让我们能够把它应用于不只于演出的其他活动场景——比如春节庆典、冬季汇演、颁奖典礼、毕业和升学典礼，以及其他一些活动，比如宴会、毕业舞会、学生体检和12年级学生的艺术展！”Williams校长说。

服务是启明星重要的核心价值观，我们乐于分享资源给所有社区成员。Daniel校长说，未来启明星也可以在剧院场地举办会议或是比赛等公共活动。

这样功能多元又独具启明星特色的剧院太让人期待了！

我们盼着D+剧院早日落成！

After visiting the campus several times, Ms. Ma Xiaoyi, the Chief architect of the Daystar D+ Theater design, felt that the characters in the Daystar community were so vivid and unique while the physical environment of the school became a mere backdrop.

"Both the students and the teachers are happy, focused, and energetic. I'm eager to bring this spirit to life within the architecture." said Xiaoyi, "D+ is the largest public facility in the small and beautiful Daystar campus, which means its multi-use is a must. With the exception of drama and dance performances that require a dark stage, other uses favor natural lighting - therefore the idea of a 'Sunshine Theater'! It is not only a functional requirement, but also representation of the warmth and vitality of the 'sunshine' in students and teachers’ heart!"

A graduate of Tsinghua University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Xiaoyi founded Inclusive Architectural Practice, a design firm that has been endeavored in educational architecture for almost a decade. The vibrant and warm atmosphere of the Daystar community and the vision of the D+ Sunshine Theater prompt her to breakthrough a number of paradigm in traditional theater architecture:

The theater is meant for highly flexible uses rather than a single performance venue, abundant natural light rather than reliance on artificial lighting, and Daystar's unique, natural color palette rather than a traditional theater’s bright colors.

Rendering of D+

In the spring of 2024, the D+ on the drawing board will gradually become a reality, and it is expected to be launched by the end of the year. At that time, the many functions of this unique theater will be unlocked, and the "D+" idea of Jack Hsu, the founder of Ivy Education Group and the Executive Board Member of Daystar Academy, will be truly realized:

Although D+'s key function is a theater, it can serve many different purposes ......

The D+ Theater adopts electrical retractable seating, with 400 comfortable seats in total. When the seating is retracted, the auditorium opens as a 7-meter-tall, 16-meter-long square space that can host the school's frequent daily activities. The auditorium's ceiling conceals 21 electrical signage poles for hanging banners and artwork as needed per events.

Rendering of D+

The stage is 19 meters in width and 9 meters in depth and can house a 30-seat orchestra. The 20,000-lumen engineering-grade projector with full-width cyclorama cover the entire stage with images to create a grand performance backdrop. The theater will be equipped with professional lighting, audio and video devices to support meetings and performances.

The exterior walls on both sides of the auditorium are designed with staggered windows, shaping sunlight into lamps in various sizes. The sloped forms of the window openings diffuse light into the hall. The 16-meter-wide, 5.5-meter-high glass curtain wall at the back of the stage connects to the open-air amphitheater at the south. Bright sunlight and lush greens become a setting for performances or gatherings. The middle parts of the glass curtain wall can slide open. This will be the first two-sided stage in Beijing, linking the indoor and outdoor auditoriums, integrating art and nature, and creating a true "Sunshine Theater".

Rendering of D+

The irregular forms of the ceiling and walls of the auditorium effectively support sound diffusion and reflection. For musical performances, the theater can fully support the transmission of natural sound without the need for amplifiers; the audience will enjoy a high-fidelity sound quality.

After the expansion, the D+ Dining Hall will have a capacity of 450 seats, allowing the entire school to dine in two shifts without waiting.

The auditorium's back end is connected to the upper and lower levels of the Dining Hall with four doors. During performances and events, the Dining Hall acts as both a pre-function to serve the audience with refreshments and social amenities, and a backstage for the actors, where changing, dressing, and green room can be quickly established.

The most distinctive feature of the Dining Hall is its mezzanine level, named as the FORUM. It can be arranged as one, two or three spaces with combinations of movable partitions.  An acoustical-friendly environment is created with the sloped forms and sound-transparent panels of the ceiling, to support seminars, meetings, rehearsals, recitals, and other social events.

Unlimited Space Uses

The small and beautiful campus of Daystar requires D+ to be highly functional and streamlined, supporting performances, assemblies, open houses, graduation ceremonies, and many other events.  Therefore, D+ adopts electrical retractable seating that is widely used in universities to achieve maximum flexibility. 

Natural Lighting

Apart from drama and dance performances that require a dark stage, most events are inclined to be naturally lit. The fenestration of the auditorium and the glass back wall of the stage introduce lots of daylight. The two-sided stage, the first one in Beijing, integrates indoor and outdoor spaces.

Neutral Tones of Color 

Traditional theaters are designed in strong colors, such as red or gold, and experimental theaters in blue or green. Since D+ will be used for multi purposes, including art exhibitions and school open houses, pre-assumed color palette may conflict with the theme of the event, and strong colors are inconsistent with Daystar's aesthetics.  Therefore, different from ordinary theaters, D+ is designed with natural materials in neutral colors.

"I thought the design of the theater just demonstrated our Core Value of Excellence. The thought and consideration that's gone into using that space, as well asthe design and how modern and how flexible it is, in terms of the use of the space, really gives us a fantastic area for us to continue the education and all round support for our students." said Daniel Williams, Executive Head of School.

"And the best part of the theater is its flexibility, which allows us to apply it to other events that go beyond performances-such as Spring Festival, Winter Performance, awards ceremonies, graduation and promotion ceremonies, as well as a number of other events such as proms, health checks and visual arts showcase of 12th graders!"

Service is an important Core Value at Daystar, and we are happy to share our resources with all members of the community. We can reach out to the community outside of Daystar by hosting conferences and competitions and so forth." Mr. Williams added.

We are excited to see how far-reaching and unique this theater will be! 

We look forward to the completion of the D+ Theater!