Bürgi Burkhard von Euw

Description

The school complex is set in a neighbourhood of small-scale residential buildings. On the eastern side is an open meadow landscape, the school grounds are bordered on the south by a railway line, and there are two small streams in the east and the north. The placement of the new building volume defines a central schoolyard as well as a park area to the north, leaving sufficient space to the south for eating lunch outdoors. The main access to the school grounds is from the west and leads directly into the schoolyard. All building entrances are oriented towards this central square. Some of the outdoor areas are landscaped with permeable gravel surfacing and trees. The new building establishes a relationship with the pre-existing school buildings through its butterfly roof. Two atria provide visual connections across the different storeys. Their roof structures articulate the roofscape. Particularly at night, they take on the character of lantern-like elements, visible from afar. The two atria differ in their indoor height. The northern atrium extends over three storeys, while the southern one terminates above the assembly hall. The atria are designed as house-within-a-house structures connecting the different parts of the building. Directly adjacent to them, located at either end of the central zone, are the learning landscapes. The building is constructed largely from timber sourced locally from the municipal forest of Malters. As part of a participatory process, the pupils were involved in the development of the colour scheme.