School Campus East in Kornwestheim. Expansion concept in interaction with existing buildings and user groups.
In a structural design approach as a competition entry for the new school campus East in Kornwestheim, a flexible and interactive place for learning and community is formed. The tree-lined site with the school's existing structures is actively incorporated and carefully thought through.
In the future, the existing Realschule as well as the new elementary and community school will be grouped around an attractive and multifunctional center. This is where the central meeting place for learners and teachers is located as the heart of the school. Here, encounters are to overcome separations without neglecting the individual requirements of the individual groups of students.
Integration of the campus into the surrounding development
The campus that is being built is set flush into the tree-lined site. The differentiated multi-storey structure creates a calming contrast to the towering residential development to the north. With a maximum distance to the noise emissions of the federal highway due to the positioning, a new school campus is created that completes the city edge with its comprehensive green and open environment and transitions into the landscape.
A school garden sheltered in the green spaces offers educational teaching opportunities. The tree-covered Green Classroom also provides an outdoor educational meeting place. And the large schoolyards, which are directly assigned to the different types of schools, offer a variety of activities appropriate for the respective age groups, including play, exercise and recreation during breaks. In addition, they offer a high degree of flexibility for variable uses.
Development
The arrival of all students is distributed to the level of the central and generously laid out hall/refectory. A concise and openly designed access element with elevator and staircase located directly at the foyer creates a clear overview from the sports hall level to the specialized classes above as well as the connection of the existing building on all levels. The upper floors are accessed with internal staircases to ensure the more introverted learning areas. Overall, all components of the school, like the existing building, are structured by multi-story and usable inner courtyards that guarantee sufficient lighting.
Sustainability and materiality
Together with the compact construction method that conserves space and the minimized degree of sealing, rainwater from the outdoor area and roof surfaces is returned to the natural cycle directly on site. The intensive greening of green spaces, existing trees and new supplementary tree plantings with native plant species makes a valuable sustainable contribution to the microclimate on the school campus. From this follows the opportunity to maintain or design open spaces to be biodiverse. With the proposed modular wood-steel-concrete hybrid construction , in addition to the energy proposals presented, the ecological desire of the award is met.
An appropriate and calm material language of concrete paving with open joints, of plain lights as well as timeless furnishing elements completes the picture.
The creation of a long-lasting, timeless building with exemplary character is in the foreground. Wooden facade elements are either surface-treated in an environmentally friendly manner or pre-greyed. Concrete is to be used as a recycled material. As a matter of principle, the materials are chosen to take account of the natural aging process. This makes it possible to dispense with costly paint finishes. The selection of robust and durable materials is intended to counteract the need for costly care and maintenance.
The new building as a timber structure is designed as a flexible space frame with a continuous load-bearing and structural grid, which on the one hand optimizes the construction process in a modular and efficient way and at the same time creates a robust, permanent framework so that it is possible to react flexibly to changing conditions. The load-bearing skeleton of timber columns and beams in combination with a timber composite ribbed ceiling with an axial dimension of 8.40 x 8.40 m and a uniform façade and extension grid of 1.40 m is decisive for the flexibility of the floor plan structure. The sanitary cores and staircases provide bracing. Depending on economic efficiency, recycled concrete is used.
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Sports hall
School campus Willy-Hellpach-School
Municipal school buildings
Emil-von-Behring-Gymnasium
