Burkard Meyer Architekten BSA
Berufsbildungszentrum Baden, Schulhaus Bruggerstrasse
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Place
Baden | Schweiz
Studio
Photos
Roger Frei
Description
The long, fully glazed building with its characteristic bronze window profiles expresses mystery and abstraction. The tectonically clear structure, its true size nonetheless difficult to ascertain, is both solid and transparent. To those driving by, the building reveals little of its purpose. In its formal abstraction, the school could also be an office building, a laboratory, or even an apartment building. Even on the inside, its utilisation is not immediately apparent: the classrooms are not positioned along the façade, but instead are concentrated in the centre of the building. The corridor follows the full length of the window fronts, like an arcade. The architectural concept is characterised by an accumulation of concrete columns, the spaces between have been fitted with glass. The construction is visible and there is no wall cladding whatsoever. The five rows of supports, staggered towards the interior, provide shade and spatial definition while also accommodating the HVAC. Depending on the viewing angle, they form either a closed wall or provide a view into the next spatial layer.