SNOW ARCHITEKTUR

Federal School Site Community
BSSOG Hartberg.

This competition design consists of an extension, a new construction and the renovation of the existing building in order to provide space for four different types of schools at one common location. Two aspects were decisive for the extension of the building: the buildable areas on the 1st floor will be used for an add-on and an open, multi-layered learning landscape will be created as a possibility space for new learning typologies and contemporary teaching.

Furthermore, the existing parking lot in the northern area of the property will be used for the placement of a solitaire. Thus, the new building relieves the existing building and offers plenty of space for teachers and students of the HAK/HAS.

The new building also serves as a sustainable transitional accommodation during the construction period for the different school types. The construction of a container school can therefore be avoided completely. The planned construction of the new building and the additional storey in timber construction allow a high degree of prefabrication and thus ensure a fast construction process.

Except for a small part, the floor ceilings as well as the existing reinforced concrete support grid will not be changed in the interest of a sustainable use of the existing building. The interior of the existing building will be dismantled as far as necessary, adapted in certain areas and redesigned to provide a suitable framework for contemporary learning spaces.

The addition of the second floor braces the existing building and fits in formally with the appearance of the existing property, whereby the addition of the second floor sets a deliberate accent through differentiations in the facade design.

The western facade of the existing building is redesigned with a planting framework. The greening serves to shade the learning spaces behind it and has an identity-forming effect in the urban space. The new building picks up the structure of the existing building through a clearly readable grid in the wooden facade.

By refurbishing the facades with ecological building materials, consistently closing the small atriums and adding storeys, large parts of the thermal envelope of the existing building are improved and contribute to low costs in maintenance and daily operation.

For the structuring and reorganization of the school center, an unbundling of the school types was undertaken. The HLW and elementary education departments remain on the first floor due to spatial dependencies. The HLW is organized in two clearly zoned opposing clusters.

In order to be able to design the area on the first floor as a contemporary, open learning landscape, it was extended in the western area of the two inner courtyards by 4 classrooms each. The roof area of the extension will be greened and made accessible on the 1st floor as a terrace and extension of the interior space.

Since the AHS requires the most space of all four school types, their rooms will be located on the 1st and 2nd floors in the future. The spaces for the HAK/HAS will be situated in the new solitary building. Within all areas of each school type, the classrooms are placed on the facade to ensure optimal light.

For natural lighting, the existing skylights were extended and a new generous cascade staircase acts as a central access element. Room-high glass surfaces between the open learning landscape and the classrooms, as well as the reference to the atriums, also allow better natural lighting in these zones.

The new vertical circulation not only connects the levels with each other, but also offers large seating steps for free and informal learning. In addition, it can be used for presentations and lectures and thus acts as a focal point of the school center that is accessible to all types of schools.

In the new building is also a central, open staircase as the main access with a recreational quality.