Creating a friendly shakehand between the school and his neighborhood – This is one of the guiding ideas of the design. But what requirements must be met so that the school as an educational institution is networked with the urban context? What is required so that students, teachers, parents and residents can identify with the building? And, last but not least: How is it possible to give a house with such high demands on flexibility its own expression and a distinctive atmosphere?
The district is characterized by the beautiful, listed old school building from 1913, the imposing neo-Romanesque church of St. Josef-Eschersheim and friendly, predominantly three to four-story residential buildings from different eras. Our goal is to carefully integrate the new building into this special situation. We achieve this through various measures. First of all, there is the height of the new building, which is planned to have three upper floors and remains well below the eaves line of the old building. The terrace cuts on the second floor also serve as a support: they break up the volume of the new building and strengthen the dialogue with the buildings in the neighborhood. The interaction between the old building, the additional building from 2011 and the new building creates a clearly recognizable and harmonious ensemble. In addition to the structural considerations, the open space integration of the facility must be emphasized. Access to the site is via Rhaban-Fröhlich-Straße and Paul-Bode-Straße, as well as via Rühlstraße and Im Wörth Street. The educational institution is seamlessly and barrier-free connected to its surroundings.
True to the motto “As much openness as possible and as much unity as necessary,” the new building opens up to the neighborhood on the ground floor. On the one hand, this is achieved through its expression as a transparent, inviting building. On the other hand, public uses are arranged here, which enable exhibitions, presentations and demonstrations. These include the three-field sports hall, the auditorium, the cafeteria located directly at the entrance and the central school stairs.
The new house is connected to the old building. Here, at the junction between the cultural monument and the new building, is the beginning of the interior. The glazed connecting bridge is two-story, it is subordinate to the existing building and yet is more than an umbilical cord. It creates the inner connection between the two buildings and is fragile and robust at the same time. It shows openness and respect towards a work of architecture.
In the allocation shown, the administration, departments of art, languages, social sciences and the clusters for years eight to ten are arranged in the old building. The necessary modifications to the existing building are carried out using simple construction measures. The most beautiful room in the old building, visible on the façade with its two-story-high window elements, is the library.
Our school stairs offer special support. As an orientation point and meeting place with a distinctive character, it represents a spatial resource with functional overlays: It is a space to linger, to meet friends, to hang out, to work on the laptop, to recharge your batteries – it is the new center of the new building. The incident daylight softens the wooden wall surfaces and the brightly glazed concrete soffits of the ceilings. A space that will be remembered.
The three-field sports hall is buried and incorporated into the volume of the school. It is a spatially visible part of the educational institution. There is a special visual reference to the activities inside the hall in the foyer and from the school stairs. This illustrates our interior perspective. Large glazing on the facades turns the room into a daylight hall.
