Studio began as a small project that brought together a few committed teachers and ambitious students who found a time and a place to meet beyond the bounds of the formal classroom. This is the origin of Studio: teachers who love their work and seize every opportunity to take it further; pupils with time and intellect to spare, in search of something more.

Eventually, the project spread and Studio needed a centre (or two). Space is important; where we are affects what we think, how we behave and the way we feel. We were selective in our hunt for a space to embody the energy of Studio. In Shanghai, our founders trekked across neighbourhoods into architecture of all stripes, in pursuit of a space that was relaxed yet enlivening. Something between a haven and a laboratory.

What they discovered in the end were two multi-floor, sun-soaked spaces with semi-flexible floor plans. Spaces where students can feel relaxed – away from the daily disciplines of home and school – and inspired to let their brains breathe for a while. Open, airy, comfortable and active – this is the way Studio spaces feel.

As we continue to grow, space remains central. Our name implies it: a studio is a dedicated area, set apart from the rest of the world by a creator. It serves as a place where original, new ideas are brought to life; it is a site for exhibition among peers, productive critique, the freedom to try and re-try; it is the inverse of the gallery - a place of the unfinished, of the ever-growing, of the raw being refined. A space for such work must contain certain qualities: spaciousness, natural light (the better to see ourselves), an abundance of materials. This is where the magic happens, where the blank canvas becomes something to show to the world.