Science Center for the Augustinianum Secondary School

The City of Greven (Münsterland) is located in a region with a great tradition in brick construction. Also the main building of the Augustinianum from the 1960s has a striking exposed brickwork and so it seemed sensible to design the new construction with a brick façade. The selected waterstruck brick with its loamy, brown-grey colour is burnt only a few kilometers away. Its colours merge watercolour-like into one another, whereby the darker heads put distinctive accents on the façade built up in a wild pattern.

The compact, two-story construction is positioned perpendicular to the adjacent Lindenstraße, accompanying the footpath to the schoolyard. Three volumetric interventions create a striking silhouette along the street. A spacious canopy marks the entrance while reduced and precisely positioned window openings give sculptural strength to the small house. The façade of dark waterstruck brick, the dark green textile of the sun shading and the wood/aluminium windows impart a significant and robust character. On the street side of the ground floor a display window stimulates interaction between scientific learning at school and passersby.

The new building, which seems at first glance to be clearly and unpretentiously designed, upon closer inspection surprises with its unexpected spatial richness, which is reflected especially in its sectional figure. At the edges one finds to the North a skylit vertical circulation layer with a foyer and two stairwells; to the South a zone with two practice rooms and a centrally located assembly space. Between these two zones a three-dimensional ribbon spatially links the two floors, consisting of seminar rooms, courtyard, voids, ancillary rooms and skylights. A communicative center flooded with light is created, presenting multiple visual connections and strong potential to be appropriated by students, making it their own.

On the respective floors the rooms have been arranged according to their functional requirements – The Physics Department is located on the ground floor, Chemistry on the first floor. Near the assembly hall, teachers can find an internal staircase, which also accesses the adjoining discussion rooms. The northern area of the ground floor receives special treatment, housing a small exhibition and event space in which the curriculum can be presented to other classes. Thus, further discussions are stimulated and curiosity will be aroused - curiosity is especially regarded by the Augustinianum as the main factor in motivating students to learn.