For a semester I taught at the Jing Mei Business School in Beijing. This was a wonderful school. I made many friends and we have stayed in touch over the years. It was humbling for me to teach there because my students were all smarter than me. We had attorneys, graphic designers, research market analysts, publishers, IT leaders, and business people. So, not only were the students intelligent, but the building’s concept was a great idea to me.
Let’s say the building was 35 floors high; I am just guessing since I don’t remember! The building was established with a plan where the floors alternated business and residential. The philosophy was that when one floor was leaving to go to work, the other floor would be coming to work. This concept would maximize the building’s limited parking.
There was a nice area around the building where trees were planted and open areas where people would walk their dogs. Also, there was a nice walking path that had stones which extended upward from the sidewalk. The stones were there to massage your feet, which is important in that culture. It was very peaceful in the park outside the building and there was playground equipment for children. There was an international element to the building, as we made friends with an Egyptian family living there. They didn’t take any classes, but would just come and hang out with us. This made me think the design of the combination of residential and business was a great idea!
