Primary school
An integrative campus
Together with the existing sports hall and kindergarten, the new school building for the KGS Bildchen becomes a major player in the future development of the Preuswald district. On the one hand the arrangement of the buildings around the schoolyard cre- ates a contained place as a special shelter for the children. And on the other hand, in addition to the school use, the new building also serves as a meeting place for a wide variety of neighbor- hood-related events and activities.
In all directions
Generous openings on all sides connect inside with outside. The biggest one marking the entrance, the others heading to the schoolyard, the cafeteria terrace and the green classroom.
A heart in the middle
The new center is both heart and allrounder. Flexibly furnished, with stage and seating steps, it serves as a forum, auditorium and weather-protected schoolyard. Besides school it also becomes meeting room and center for the community of Aachens Preus-wald district.
A view into the green
All classrooms are located on the upper floor and arran- ged around the two-story forum to offer a generous view into the surrounding landscape.
A heart in the middle
A central forum with increased room height literally represents
the center of everyday school life. The adjacent functions (arri- val, studio, cafeteria) provide a link to the outside space. These rooms complement the forum, which can be used for a wide variety of occasions. More important than these special uses, however, is its role as a protected and vitalizing place for playing and learning in the pupils‘ daily lives. The spatial design of the staggered first floor levels, connected by wide seating steps, creates different nuances of interaction and retreat. The upper floor offers two types of classrooms and forms a ring around this new center. These types of rooms allow concentrated work with a view into the greenery, while on the other hand the inner corridor is connected to the forum and hugh windows allow views from both sides.
A variaty of outside spaces
The outside provides areas of different quality by various me-
ans such as terracing and planting. While the entrance area is on street level, the schoolyard as a more private and secure area is
a bit lifted and mediates to the natural slope and its green class- room in the back of the building. In the afternoon the schoolyard with its large play area is open to the public and therefor available to the children of the neighborhood. As an extension of the inside terraces lead from the studio and the cafeteria to the outside and invite the children to experience nature in the cycle of seasons.
CREDITS
DESIGN
New Architekten BDA
Team: Michael Weichler, Fritz Keuthen (Responsible Partners), Carsten Pesch, Marius Westermann
Execution and on-site-management:
Knapp & Knapp Architekten, Team: Maximilian Knapp, Inga Knapp, Kyra Manegold
LANDSCAPE DESIGN
wbp Landschaftsarchitekten
Team: Rebekka Junge, Christine Wolf (Responsible Partners)
Julia Dhoska, Jens Knapp
On-site-management: PlaN.C. Nils Carlsen
