Project Location: Loucun Community, Xinhu Subdistrict, Guangming District, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, China
Project Type: Public Building | Nine-Year Consistent School (45 classes)
GETO Products Used: Wood-grain Fair-faced Formwork, Orange-red Fair-faced Concrete Construction System, Double-curved Custom Formwork
Project Overview
The Loucun No.4 School construction project is located in Loucun Community, Xinhu Subdistrict, Guangming District, Shenzhen, at the northwest corner of the intersection of Guangming Avenue and Louhui Road. The project consists of 2 underground floors and 7 above‑ground floors, comprising three multi‑story teaching buildings and one dormitory building. It is a key public welfare project that improves the allocation of regional educational resources and enhances public service capacity in the area.
The school is designed around the core concept of “Nurturing Trees into a Forest”, with a “large courtyard and small gardens” spatial layout, creating an open, symbiotic, multi‑dimensional modern campus. The architectural functions integrate teaching, living, activities, and community sharing, forming a multi‑level, multi‑scene learning and growth environment. The facade innovatively adopts orange‑red cast‑in‑place wood‑grain fair‑faced concrete, which gives the building a natural wood texture and warm color while the structure is being formed, creating a friendly, simple, and vibrant campus atmosphere.
As the first public building project in Shenzhen to utilise orange-red cast-in-place wood-grain fair-faced concrete technology, Loucun No.4 School is not only a campus construction project but also a demonstration project that combines fair-faced concrete process innovation, special-shaped formwork detailed design, green low-carbon construction, and public building quality improvement.
Project rendering: a warm campus facade shaped by orange‑red wood‑grain fair‑faced concrete
Engineering Characteristics & Construction Difficulties
1. First application of orange‑red cast‑in‑place wood‑grain fair‑faced concrete technology in Shenzhen
This project is the first in Shenzhen to use orange‑red cast‑in‑place wood‑grain fair‑faced concrete technology. This process integrates structural construction with surface finishing: the concrete is poured in one go, eliminating traditional secondary plastering and painting, so the facade directly presents a fine natural wood texture and a uniform warm orange‑red appearance.
Compared with ordinary fair‑faced concrete, orange‑red cast‑in‑place wood‑grain fair‑faced concrete imposes much higher requirements on raw material stability, pigment proportion, formwork texture, concrete slump, pouring rhythm, and curing conditions. Unstable mix control can easily lead to color differences, discontinuous texture, surface bubbles, local stains, etc., directly affecting the final facade effect. Therefore, achieving uniform color, natural texture, and simultaneous structural formation and finishing was a major technical challenge.
Pigment and formwork texture control: ensuring a stable and uniform orange‑red finish
2. Fair‑faced concrete base slab construction under super‑high formwork conditions
The project sets orange‑red cast‑in‑place wood‑grain fair‑faced concrete base slabs on both the north and south sides, with a maximum construction height of 22.4 meters. Under super‑high formwork conditions, challenges arise in structural surveying, formwork installation, falsework erection, reinforcement systems, concrete pouring, and safety management.
Because the fair‑faced concrete base slab serves both structural and final aesthetic functions, the construction process cannot rely on later repairs to fix defects. Formwork joints, support stiffness, pouring speed, vibration quality, and forming stability all directly affect the final appearance. At the same time, large‑volume pouring of the base slab carries risks of settlement, cracking, and uneven color. Full‑process control of falsework quality, single‑pour volume, pouring rhythm, and on‑site verification is required.
Super‑high formwork construction site: higher requirements for stability and forming accuracy of the support system
3. High difficulty of special‑shaped double‑curved cast‑in‑place concrete structure
The underground area of the sports hall uses a special‑shaped double‑curved shell structure with complex curvature and irregular curvature changes. Unlike conventional planar or single‑curved components, the formwork system must precisely match a continuously changing spatial surface. Ordinary formwork techniques cannot achieve the required curvature fit, positioning reinforcement, and forming accuracy.
Moreover, the varying elevations of the double‑curved shell require precise calculation of the height, layout elevation, and node positions of each vertical support member. Relying solely on traditional 2D drawings and on‑site experience for layout can easily lead to formwork deviation, uneven curves, dimensional errors, and uneven support forces. Therefore, achieving precise forming of complex curved surfaces through digital detailed design and a custom formwork system was another core technical challenge.
Double‑curved structural model and construction site: complex surfaces require digital point control and custom formwork support
GETO Solutions
1. Coordination mechanism between batching plant and construction site to ensure uniform orange‑red finish
Given the high requirement for color stability of orange‑red cast‑in‑place wood‑grain fair‑faced concrete, GETO’s management team implemented a coordination mechanism between the concrete batching plant and the construction site, tracking the entire process from concrete production and transport to site arrival and pouring.
The project team focused on controlling the concrete mix ratio, raw material batches, pigment dosage, slump, and on‑site pouring conditions, monitoring color changes in real time to ensure visual consistency across different batches. Through the synergy of front‑end mix control and on‑site construction management, the project effectively reduced the risk of color variation and ensured the overall forming quality of the orange‑red wood‑grain finish.
2. Wood‑grain fair‑faced formwork system to achieve “structure as finish”
To achieve a natural wood texture, the project adopted a wood‑grain fair‑faced formwork system that transfers the formwork surface texture directly to the concrete. After pouring, the walls and base slabs present a wood‑textured fair‑faced concrete finish.
This system not only reduces subsequent wet work such as plastering and painting but also avoids problems such as later detachment, cracking, and high maintenance costs associated with traditional decorative layers. Through control of formwork joints, optimization of the reinforcement system, and coordination of the pouring process, the project integrated structural construction with architectural expression, providing a greener, more durable, and more distinctive solution for public building facades.
3. 3D digital technology for double‑curved structure detailing
For the double‑curved shell structure in the underground sports hall, GETO applied 3D digital construction technology for detailed design. Using Rhino as the base platform, combined with Grasshopper, Lunchbox, and other plugins, the team carried out digital modeling, point extraction, and component parameter analysis of the complex curved surface.
Through the 3D model, the team accurately reproduced the spatial shape of the double‑curved surface, extracted key point coordinates, member elevations, and support system parameters, and converted the model data into on‑site construction instructions. The height of each vertical support member was determined point‑by‑point based on the model data, and the formwork system was custom‑designed according to the curved surface contour, significantly improving layout accuracy and construction controllability of the special‑shaped structure.
3D detailed model: improving construction accuracy of special‑shaped curved surfaces through digital point control
4. Custom carved stiffening ribs and flexible formwork for complex curved surfaces
In the double‑curved shell formwork system, GETO selected carved stiffening ribs combined with flexible formwork. The carved ribs control the spatial shape of the curved framework, while the flexible formwork adapts to the continuously changing curved surface, allowing the formwork system to better fit the special‑shaped shell structure.
At the same time, the project added multi‑directional tie measures to enhance overall formwork stability, preventing deformation caused by lateral pressure, vibration disturbances, or support deviations during pouring. During construction, 3D coordinate re‑measurement was carried out concurrently with each process, and dynamic corrections were made based on the re‑measurement results to ensure the forming accuracy and construction safety of the shell structure.
5. Full‑process quality control to ensure forming quality of high falsework and fair‑faced concrete
In response to the construction risks posed by the combination of super‑high falsework, fair‑faced concrete, and special‑shaped structures, GETO strengthened full‑process quality control. The project team set key control points from formwork detailing, support system erection, rebar tying, concrete pouring, to final forming inspection, ensuring support stability, formwork tightness, accurate alignment, and controllable surface appearance.
Through digital detailed design, on‑site coordinate re‑measurement, formwork reinforcement optimization, and concrete pouring process management, the project effectively solved the difficulties of forming fair‑faced concrete under super‑high falsework, controlling special‑shaped curved surfaces, and achieving a uniform orange‑red finish – providing a replicable experience for similar public building projects in the future.
Project Value
Loucun No.4 School is the first public building project in Shenzhen to implement orange‑red cast‑in‑place wood‑grain fair‑faced concrete technology, filling a local gap in this type of process. Through the integrated “structure as finish” construction method, the project combines fair‑faced concrete structural construction with architectural facade expression, offering a new technical path for public building exteriors.
Technically, the project overcame multiple challenges: color control of orange‑red fair‑faced concrete, construction of fair‑faced concrete base slabs under super‑high falsework, and forming of special‑shaped double‑curved shell structures, forming a mature construction control method. In particular, the comprehensive application of 3D digital modeling, point detailing, custom stiffening ribs, and flexible formwork for the double‑curved structure provides a practical reference for the precise construction of complex special‑shaped concrete structures.
In terms of green construction, the coating‑free fair‑faced concrete process reduces secondary finishing steps, lowers material consumption and later maintenance needs, reflecting a low‑carbon, durable, and intensive construction philosophy. The building facade, with its orange‑red wood‑grain fair‑faced concrete, creates a warm and natural campus atmosphere that combines structural performance, aesthetic expression, and green value.
As a public welfare project, Loucun No.4 School effectively addresses the shortage of educational resources in the area, providing a high‑quality nine‑year consistent education space. As a technological innovation project, it sets a demonstrative example for high‑quality, industrialized, and green construction of public buildings – especially school buildings – in Shenzhen and throughout China.
With its comprehensive capabilities in fair‑faced concrete formwork, special‑shaped structure detailing, and complex on‑site construction management, GETO demonstrated a systematic solution ability from product supply to technical service in this project. Loucun No.4 School not only reflects GETO’s innovative practice in public building construction but also further validates its comprehensive strength in new formwork technology, green construction, and complex structural construction services.