PENZISBETTINI. Architekten

Description

Condensed landscape in Baar

The orthogonal, open layout spatially connects the school grounds with the natural environment, creates an open transition to the town, and forms a campus-like structure suited to a primary school. The «built centre» draws on a traditional «urban square» vocabulary, using transparency and wide canopies to provide clear orientation and intuitive focal points for the children.

One type, four buildings

The complex is a directional timber structure built on a flexible 3.8-metre grid that allows for flexible use and serial expansion. While the East, West, and South buildings are oriented toward the North building, their structures overlap in the North building’s coffered ceiling, physically and programmatically condensing the «new centre.»

Spatial effect through «typostructure»

The spatial structure and campus identity is defined by its load-bearing system: prefabricated timber beams and columns paired with recycled concrete for components in contact with the ground. By strictly separating structural elements from non-load-bearing walls and building services, the design allows for convenient replacement of components with different lifespans.

Layering and transparency

Double-height spaces with galleries at the stairwells define «addresses» for each school cluster and bring daylight into the level below. The intermediate space toward the Waldmannhalle is conceived as an arrival zone. Like a translucent membrane, the climbing wall of the gymnasium enables visual connections across the campus.