Biel/Bienne Commercial College
The new block constructed for the Biel/Bienne Commercial College (BFB) occupies an attractive site between the town centre and the lake, right next to the railway station.
The district master plan defines a virtually quadratic volume with a side length of roughly 40 metres and a height of 18.5 metres. These are conditions in which lighting is tricky, but that problem is solved through an inner courtyard, which becomes the building’s salient element. The perfection of the strongly profiled glass façade corresponds, on the one hand, to the precision of the structure’s positioning, whilst, on the other hand, it also reflects the earlier industrial history of the site.
Inside, those zones that serve communication, such as the auditorium, canteen and thoroughfares, have been finished in a monochrome yellow colour. The classrooms, as zones of concentration, are in a neutral white. This distinction between the colouring of the various zones facilitates orientation and generates a captivating tension.
Compliance with the “Minergie” standard and the intensive degree of detailing resulted in many specific solutions. One example is the lights, which were specially designed and produced for the college.
