Edith Stein Vocational School

The Edith Stein Vocational School in Paderborn was established in the 1960ies as a two year vocational school for domestic and nutritional science operated by the archdiocese Paderborn. It is located in a lovely green space north of the Paderborn historic district. The spacious premises enabled the realization of an extensive school ground with various entries. The ensemble constitutes of two to three leveled solitary buildings that are connected through an orthogonal system of one-story hallways. The facades of the buildings catch the eye, as they feature nearly continuous white reinforced concrete frames, web bracings made off light red bricks, or white plaster. The consistent materiality contributes to a homogeneous appearance of the entire grounds.

The continual development of the school program, including practical education for professions in the social sector as well as classes leading up to the high school diploma Abitur, lead to an increase of ca. 200 to 800 students in 20 years. The substantial growth in the student population and the diversification of the teaching forms including full-day care demanded additional classrooms, a canteen and a “room of silence”.

The new rooms are organized in three new buildings. An internal school street, which runs parallel to the street “Am Rolandsbad”, integrates the new buildings into the internal circulation of the existing school complex. Through their materiality, the new buildings clearly relate to the existing buildings.

A small chapel in the east and a canteen in the west of the grounds characterize the two endpoints of the premises.

The chapel is twelve meter high and constitutes the new long-distance imprint of the catholic institution. The interior and exterior walls are made off massive, whitewashed masonry. The chapel represents a “room of silence” and serves for meditation, school church service and as a day church for the neighboring catholic parish. The tranquil and introverted atmosphere of the room develops through the stone materiality and daylight that enters in various ways: in the morning direct sunlight hits the narrow windows on the east side, during daytime twilight enters the room through the perforated masonry walling or as a dim background light of the ceiling cross.

The canteen highlights the special scenic situation of the school: large transparent facade glazing on the long side opens up various views into the green and turns nature into an element of the interior. Skylights support the idea of a bright and friendly room that can be used for diverse school-related and non-school-related events.

The new classroom wing is directly attached to an existing building. It assimilates the existing proportions and the original guidelines. Large glass surfaces in the classrooms ensure a consistent use of daylight.

A new portal building strengthens the school ensemble to become a prime address and defines the main entrance to the school.

The constructions were conducted during continuous running of the school. This included all reconstruction activities that were necessary due to outdated fire safety installations and non-existent accessible circulation.