Western Academy of Beijing is a pioneering design project that integrates innovative learning strategies in playful architecture to support human development and self-directed learning. The design concept is an example of future proof school designs that foster 21st century skills and prepare students for the unexpected. The design meets the need of the school’s visionary FLoW21 targets for team-teaching, flexible learning groups, mentorship and individualized timetables. Maximizing learning is at the heart of the prototype learning environments at the Western Academy of Beijing. The design upgrades the typical monofunctional spaces of schools in order to create flexible learning spaces for students at the IB middle- and high school. Instead of a traditional classroom structure, an obsolete design thinking from the industrial age, we organized spaces with spatial freedom to create a positive impact on the progress, behavior, wellbeing and health of both students and teachers. We all learn in different ways and we can learn everywhere. Traditional classrooms don’t meet the need for either focused, team-oriented, facilitated or self-directed learning. The Western Academy Campus breaks with tradition and support project-based learning which gives teachers the possibility of facilitating differentiated learning, support the students that need it and collaborate across classes. The students’ different needs in learning situations are reflected in the ten community-based spaces that allow both movement, interaction and concentration. With an open community structure, the new learning landscapes enhance student agency and self-directed learning that leads to a significant increase in motivation. Motivated students learn better, and the playful design strategy has been shown to positively support the students' learning journey. Throughout the prototype environments, the design strategy for Western Academy of Beijing is taking inspiration from the IB program’s Theory of Knowledge. The learning landscapes are themed by the Areas of Knowledge such as a community for mathematics and a multidisciplinary library. Within each area, differentiated spaces enable both students and teachers in the learning community to work with the Ways of Knowing. In the differentiated learning venues, the students can explore different modes of learning and training skills. For the mathematics learning community in middle school, the grid in the Movement space allows students to measure with large-scale instruments and explore the space with their bodies. For the mathematics teachers, the space presents an impactful tool to relate movement, body scales and perspective and provide a fuller understanding of geometry and space. Students encounter customized frameworks for Movement, Construction, Stillness, Sound, Lab, Biology, Theatre, Library, Writing & Drawing and an Exhibition & Lounge Courtyard. By fostering engagement and stimulating sense making, play allows the student to build domain-related skills, content knowledge, and creative thinking. When students play with blocks, draw, and engage in dramatic play, they count, classify, create and examine patterns The project supports the theory of life-long learning, curiosity and play. Play has long been recognized as a central part of children’s’ learning. In playful learning, children try out ideas, test theories, experiment, explore, take risks, and reimagine the world. In playful learning, children are engaged, relaxed, empowered, motivated and challenged - states of mind highly conducive to learning. Throughout the entire campus, the design activates and integrates the wealth of Chinese culture in a contemporary framework for learning. Dragon paths inspire the flow structure and grand courtyard pavilions in red latticework function as meeting spots and workstations with integrated exhibition displays. Instead of hiding students’ projects away in classrooms, the podiums work as display opportunities for the learning community while also showcasing the school's vast collection of Chinese artefacts, historic furniture and graphic. It shapes the identity of the new imaginative learning environments for the international students, representing more than 50 nationalities. All areas are utilized efficiently throughout the day and they all serve the purpose of creating a dynamic, safe, playful and flexible space that students actively integrate in their learning.