Kast Kaeppeli Architekten
Kleefeld Elementary School
best architects 24
education buildings
Place
Bümpliz, Switzerland
Studio
Photos
Rolf Siegenthaler
Description
Together with the local community centre, the new school
complex forms the heart of the Kleefeld residential area. Two new buildings,
one for the elementary level and one for the pre-primary level, generate
together with the renovated double gymnasium a new public space, which serves
both as the centre of the school campus and as a meeting place for the neighbourhood.
This newly planned central schoolyard has a direct connection to the neighbourhood
through its open west side and hosts the existing civil defence facility below
it. Due to the sloping terrain, the two new volumes offer naturally lit
plinths, which enable independent access to different uses. The elementary
school is organised as a four-storey building with a plinth, while the pre-primary
school uses the terrain’s slope towards Rehagstrasse to grow from a one-storey
to a two-storey volume. The main entrance for the school is located in the
elementary school building at the level of the square. The eight classrooms are
located on the upper two floors, each with daylight from two sides. By allocating
the multi-purpose rooms to the middle zone of the floor plan, different forms
of teaching can take place. From teaching in the classroom with an associated
group room, to studio work with two or three classes, to a large learning
landscape extending over the entire floor, many settings are imaginable. All
classrooms in the pre-primary school building are oriented toward their
assigned playground and outdoor space on the east side.