Holzkirchen Secondary School
On the western edge of central Holzkirchen, the new secondary school building joins the existing ensemble of elementary school and sports hall to form a new school campus. The interplay of the buildings creates a new central focal point. In the midst of the heterogeneous surroundings – public buildings in various styles alongside predominantly small-scale residential buildings – our project emerges as a calm and identity-creating structure. Concise and self-confident, strong and independent, reserved and natural, the new school integrates itself into its surroundings. It mediates between the different scales of the surroundings, without ever conflicting with them, to form a distinctive new place. The new school is a generous form, an open structure that can be used neutrally and flexibly. The concept is based on a clear framework, which, with a regular structural rhythm, allows a high degree of versatility and makes it easily adaptable in future. Looking at the floor plan configuration, traditional carpet patterns may come to mind. Net structures, link knots and other combinations, open and closed zones, air spaces and atriums, balconies and outdoor terraces form as differentiated places. They are not only the structural parameters, but also the basis for the future possibilities of use, for learning and working in the most diverse constellations, for new communities and creative networking, for new social worlds. The new Learning House is an identity-creating place that enables and promotes integrative learning and play. The three-story organization maintains an approachable, human scale: a second home for students of different ages. In addition, the building structure is horizontally layered and orientation is very clear. The floor plan is open, and the relationship to the outdoor space is also open. A perimeter zone forms the flowing transition and offers great added value: in addition to balcony, walkway and escape route, it is a valuable extension of the space, it takes over functions of sun protection and rain shelter, in addition it offers intrinsic advantages in the cleaning and maintenance of the building. Despite its great compactness, the new school building appears as a generous, translucent structure. Different spatial qualities develop individual atmospheres and distinctive places. These qualities are supported by a sustainable and haptically rich construction and material concept predominantly made of the renewable raw material wood.
Design Team: Andreas Cukrowicz, Anton Nachbaur-Sturm, Tobias Schnell (PL), Kemal Cansiz, Benedikt Pfuhlmann in collaboration with Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten AG Zürich, Merz Kley Partner ZT GmbH Dornbirn, IBS TB GmbH Linz, Martin Stocker Modelmaking Hohenems.
Visualisations: expressiv Wien
Client: Markt Holzkirchen
Competition 2021 3rd Prize