Primary School Steinwies Schwerzenbach
Urban Planning and Volumetrics
The new primary school building is integrated into the overall complex as an additional structural element, positioned along the northeastern perimeter. The building volume is designed as a three-story square structure that can be extended by an additional floor if needed. Its placement follows the established development principles and is aligned parallel to Schorenstrasse. The slightly rotated positioning of the building creates well-lit and high-quality outdoor spaces. The school’s break area opens towards the centrally located hard court, while the enclosed kindergarten outdoor space benefits from a southeastern orientation. This arrangement naturally and seamlessly extends and completes the overall ensemble. Additionally, the positioning of the new building enhances the northern entrance to the school grounds, increasing its significance.
Floor Plans / Organization
Access to the new school building is through a series of differentiated outdoor spaces. From the tree-lined southern playground, visitors enter the covered outdoor entrance area. Within this protected outdoor space is a free-standing spiral staircase that connects the floors vertically. On each floor, the covered area extends into a generous outdoor terrace. This weather-protected zone is flexible and can be used as a social space, break area, or as an extended outdoor classroom, enhancing the school’s educational offerings.
There are no additional staircases inside the building, preventing noise transmission between floors. This design choice creates intimate learning and teaching zones, allowing for individualized and focused work environments. The interior layout is simple and clear, with a room-to-room connection, eliminating the need for corridor spaces. Upon entering the school, visitors arrive at the cloakroom area, which serves as a central distribution hub. The cloakroom is integrated into the teaching environment, acting as an extended classroom. With mobile cloakroom furniture, the space is adaptable and can be adjusted to suit various teaching methods. Each floor houses three classrooms, arranged in the corners of the building, with an interspersed group room between them. The rooms are accessible not only through the cloakroom area but also along an enfilade corridor along the façade. Floor-to- ceiling glazed internal doors allow for visibility throughout the building, creating dynamic sightlines between different teaching areas. Within the classrooms, floor-to-ceiling façade windows bring in ample natural light, making the surrounding green spaces feel connected to the interior. The bright, open atmosphere and flexible floor plans provide the ideal conditions for the innovative "Churer-Modell" of teaching, which is embraced by the educators. This results in a dynamic and inspiring learning environment where children can express themselves individually throughout their school day.
Expression of Materiality
The new primary school building stands out as an independent and self-assured structure. The prominent features of its exterior are the cantilevered canopies, which divide the building vertically, making the number of floors clearly discernible and creating a scale appropriate for children. The canopy construction provides optimal weather protection for the wooden building envelope and ensures that thermal requirements (summer heat protection) for a comfortable indoor climate can be met even during the summer months. The various materials of the building envelope consist of façade elements with vertical wooden cladding, fiber cement corrugated sheets for the canopies, and suspended metal panels in the escape route areas.
The uniform dark coloring unites the different components, which subtly stand out from each other due to their varying surface textures (vertical joints, waves, gloss levels). The homogeneous appearance emphasizes the high- quality character of the school, while the clear contour lines stand out prominently against the green plane tree grove. The interior of the building presents itself as a bright and friendly learning workshop. The materials are largely left in their natural state, allowing the construction principle and the arrangement of the individual elements to remain clearly recognizable.
Construction / Flexibility
The new primary school building is constructed using a hybrid construction method. A conventional skeletal structure made of concrete flat slabs and prefabricated concrete columns forms the main load-bearing framework. The building envelope is designed as a self-supporting, prefabricated wooden frame construction that is positioned in front of the concrete skeleton. The regular arrangement of the surrounding column grid characterizes the exterior expression and highlights the clear structure of the new building. The prominent canopies are mounted on claw-like wooden consoles that are anchored back to the wooden structure. Inside the building, two longitudinal concrete walls provide bracing and earthquake safety for the school. Between the classrooms, the partition walls are made of lightweight wooden construction. This allows for maximum flexibility in rearranging interior spaces, which can be implemented easily at any time. The static structure thus responds to the ever- changing needs and the associated variability of room configurations.
Open Space
The overarching design concept is formulated as an open and flowing outdoor space continuum. The rotated placement of the new primary school leads to dynamic outdoor areas that serve as play and break spaces. Circular seating elements made of rammed concrete are placed beneath the tree canopy, complementing the outdoor offerings. Generously unsealed surfaces of paving and grass ensure permeability and provide water to the green surroundings. The kindergarten outdoor area is designed as a defined outdoor play area that opens towards the southeast. The outer boundary of the green living room is clearly defined and reflects the dimensions of the school building. The centerpiece of the playground is a hand-knotted climbing structure made of hemp ropes and trunks of black locust wood. Surfaces like sand, coarse gravel, grass, and water offer a tactile and sensory variety for children, enabling explorative play in the outdoor area. The choice of plants is guided by ecological principles. The new tree population consists of native trees and scattered special flowering perennials. Pine and larch trees accentuate the topographic heights of the site, while maples, hornbeams, and linden trees are found in the flat areas and depressions.
