Primary school ZP

The school is situated at an important site at an urban level. The front is located in an urban fabric of streets with ribbon development. The school area itself is situated on large green area at the backside.  The site is characterized by large differences in levels, ascending from the street to the back of the site. The open structure of the plot was therefore a gaping wound in the urban fabric.

The building is interpreted as a fusion of two typologies: at the street side, the three layers of the building are a continuation and closure of the existing ribbon development; at the back, the elongated, two-story building is to an extent sunk into the ground and thus refers to the existing pavilions on the site. Together with the boundary between the building typologies, the boundary between city and nature blurs too: between the new building and the existing pavilion an inner street enters the school grounds. A big slide gate closes off the inner street, while the main building can be separately accessed after school hours.

The duality between the stringent urbanity and frivolity of the pavilions, thrown into the landscape, is one of structure and chaos, hard and soft, knowledge and creativity, work and relaxation, study and games… It’s an important educational assignment to teach children how to handle this duality. This duality is reflected in the design and materiality of the building. The brick shell is made of seven different bricks and masonry. The playful effect of the patchwork breaks through the relatively monotonous volume of the school.