MJ2B Architekten

Description

The school complex by the shores of Lake Murten in Nant is being extended with a compact, three-storey structure. Painstaking analysis of the existing local architecture has resulted in a harmonious ensemble of buildings. The extension creates a reception area connected to the existing multi-purpose hall. The visual link between the schoolyard and the lake are showcased to exciting effect using the open space between the old and the new school building. The building features a clear bidirectional orientation, facing northwards towards Mont-Vully as well as southwards towards Lake Murten. Large recesses on the longitudinal façades highlight the building’s access-points and offer protection from the elements. Together with the gently sloping roof, this gives the building a sculpture-like silhouette. The classrooms are spread across three storeys. Below the schoolyard, there is a new civil protection shelter which creates a subterranean link between the extension building and the multi-purpose hall. A central traversing hallway provides internal access to the various areas of the building and offers a line of sight to the lake on every storey. Side corridors create a variety of sequences of rooms, provide views out through frameless windows in the long façades and the roof, and thereby impart a sense of seamless transition between the interior space and the outdoors. The external appearance of the building, with its lightly coloured exposed concrete and metal elements in a warm shade of bronze, references the local architecture while still imbuing the building with its very own, contemporary look.