Edlach Elementary School

New pedagogical concepts demand new design solutions. To transform the elementary school in Edlach into a contemporary school, we placed a group of teaching clusters comprising three master classes, two group rooms, and a central activity zone in a series, offering different learning environments in a linear organization that reduces the circulation to a minimum.

Located parallel to the existing gymnasium, the 70-meter-long new school building is built on two levels. The ground floor includes the library, special classes, meeting and teachers’ rooms, as well as a cloakroom with bathrooms. Two freestanding concrete staircases lead to a glass enclosure on the classroom level above, which allows light and transparency to encourage mobility and interaction. The classrooms on the first floor open to a central zone, generously flooded by daylight through randomly placed skylights and a glass-enclosed courtyard.

Two incised balconies on either end of the central zone on the first floor provide for outdoor classroom settings, offering framed views of the impressive greenscape to the north and south, and, at the same time, connecting the interior spaces to the exterior.

A glazed multifunctional hall acts as a link between the gymnasium and the school building as well as the main entrance to the complex. The use of natural products and the attention to detail make this building a harmonious and cheerful place of learning.