New nursery Schönbrunngasse
A hillside trio
The design is based on the idea of creating a triumvirate of childcare and children’s educational facilities in this leafy oasis, consisting of the new building, the existing building, and the primary school planned in future. The aim is to preserve the buildings – the primary school, kindergarten (already exists), and nursery school (new building) – as independent volumes. A spacious playground/recreational area remains between these stand-alone buildings, providing the necessary space for the children and their development.
Creating, not taking up space
For the new building, this means creating and not taking up space! The beautiful, terraced, park-like grounds alone support the idea of letting the children keep this attractive open-air area in future too. The new building will therefore be designed as a modest solitary structure of minimal volume and positioned in the north-eastern section of the site. On the one hand, this will allow the shortest possible access, while also creating a protected, small, contiguous outdoor area towards the south – flanked by the listed old building and the new building – that respects the qualities of the local conditions. In addition, the south-east façade of the existing building will still be fully visible. Old and new exist happily alongside each other without any rivalry.
Access
The gap between the two buildings creates a convenient forecourt, to which the 70m² covered entrance area on the north-west corner is added. The pedestrian footpath between the future primary school and the existing building, edged by the new building, also leads into this area. From this forecourt area, the building is accessed via the main entrance on the upper of two floors (level 1). Around the corner, connected to the access road running along the north edge of the site, is the car park with three parking spaces. Situated at a lower level because of the natural gradient, the half-landing on the staircase also gives access to the interior from here (staff entrance). Lift access to both entrance levels – level 1 and 0 – ensures barrier-free access.
Unlike the busy, structured façade of the old building, the new building is a very plain structure. Perceived as a single storey from the entrance area in the north-west, it develops towards the south-east into a two-storey building, following the course of the terrain.
In integrating the building into the slope, special attention was given to retaining the natural course of the terrain and merging the house and slope with each other in the area of the entrances and exits.
As a result, three incisions will be made that fundamentally structure the building and create fluid transitions to the outdoor area: the covered entrance area in the north-west and the two three-metre-deep covered terraces facing south-west and south-east. The latter are situated in front of the group rooms, that they communicate to the outside. The double door areas in front divide them into more intimate, loggia-like areas allocated to individual groups. The colour-coated walls of the double door areas make it easier for the children to find their way around and encourage identification.
The homogeneous façade of vertical wooden slats is only interrupted by a few openings. In addition, a continuous skylight illuminates the break rooms and cloakrooms on level 1.
The main aspect with regard to the overall functional solution is above all the direct link between the group rooms and the open-air areas, in addition to the clear-cut lay-out. Due to the topographic conditions, the group rooms at entrance level, (level 1) face south-west, those at level 0, south-east. Behind, the access axes with adjoining side-room connections run, with each storey rotated 90 degrees from the last.
At entrance level, all general services are housed in this zone. They are grouped around the central hall with waiting area from north-west (office in entrance area) to south-east (tea kitchen and staff).
A shallow triple-flight staircase suitable for children goes down to level 0. Side-rooms such as service rooms, cleaning room, WC and store-room are situated here at the back of the access zone, inserted into the slope.
The cloakrooms are accessed straight from the central halls on both storeys. The colour accentuation of the furnishings makes it easier for the children to find their way around. The cloakroom communicates with the group room, that is separated from the break-room by a central sanitary unit. A folding wall slides back to combine these two rooms temporarily. Dirt traps run from the cloakrooms onto the loggia and on to the terrace, which is connected to the natural outdoor area.
The building was constructed to passive house standard class A+ in accordance with the OIB directive, with a heating energy demand of HWB* 15 kWh/m²a. The building concept with its minimal volume corresponds to this. In addition, the group rooms face south-east and south-west in order to take advantage of sunlight on sunny winter days, while the canopy roof, projecting more than three-metres, prevents direct insolation in summer. North-facing openings are kept to a minimum. All windows are fitted with an exterior movable sunshade.
