Soliman Zurkirchen Architekten

Description

The German School, Geneva is part of a network of German schools abroad that are supported by the Federal Republic, and contains a kindergarten, primary and secondary school to achieve recognised German education certificates. The building is the result of an open competition announced in 2003 and was opened in autumn of 2007. The meandering structure with two inner courtyards is a centrally aligned facility on two floors. The larger, public courtyard serves as the main entrance to the building and as playground for the secondary school. The smaller, enclosed courtyard is intended for the primary school children. 25 classrooms, the canteen, a school hall, a library and the sports hall are allocated for a comprehensive education. Three stairways allow simple orientation within the building and swift access to different floors. The heating/cooling system uses geothermics with an earth-probe heat pump facility and activated flooring and ceilings, so the Swiss MINERGIE certificate for economic, ecological energy consumption could be achieved in this way. The external supporting framework and the filigree glass shell provide maximum transparency and correspond with the desired external cultural presentation of the German school in Geneva.