Two birds with
one stone
school expansion in Brussels
Masterstudio TU Berlin | Partner work with David Lau
FG A13 - Prof. Stuhlmacher | 2023
ArchiCAD | Model Building Photography
The starting point of the design was a school and a kindergarten with serious infrastructural problems: cramped and dilapidated buildings, a lack of classrooms, and inadequate facilities for the cafeteria and gymnasium.
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How can the site be reorganized to meet the needs of everyone and fully utilize the potential of the space?
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The design focuses on preserving open spaces and existing structures by creating compact extensions and a central connecting platform. This platform allows for public access, provides space for the schoolyard and playground, and unites all important areas under one roof. While both institutions receive their own distinct extensions, shared functions are brought together under the platform, offering flexible space for various uses.
The platform forms a new, central address in the south of the site and creates an inviting entrance for the school and kindergarten with an arrival area in front, including the required bicycle parking spaces. It connects both facilities on a functional level by accommodating central uses such as the entrance foyer, the cafeteria, a meeting room and a children's library with a learning area. Light openings in the platform bring daylight into the interior and create small outdoor areas. A spacious staircase connects the levels and fulfills a didactic role as a meeting and lounge area. The cafeteria area can also be used as an auditorium thanks to flexible room dividers.
A new, continuous path connection from north to south is being created on the platform, which overcomes the difference in height of the site and expands the public space. The platform itself serves as a schoolyard during school hours and offers the children plenty of space to play. Outside of school hours it can be used as a playground for the public, which also makes the site accessible to the neighborhood. The extensions to the school and kindergarten are clearly based on the existing structures and create independent zones for each institution.
The sports hall is located in the basement of the platform and is designed so that it can also be used independently of school operations. A separate entrance allows access for clubs or other sports activities outside of school hours. It is particularly noteworthy that you can look down into the sports hall from the platform without the two areas interfering with each other. The horizontal load transfer in a north-south direction is ensured by a wood-concrete composite ceiling that rests on columns and beams. The horizontal loads are transferred via the ceiling slab into the subsoil up to the adjacent existing buildings or orthogonal walls and provide the necessary bracing.