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ÖFFENTLICHE BAUTEN • PUBLIC BUILDINGS TECHNISCHER AUSBAU • TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

W en building with Lego blocks, one can imagine what modular construction is like:
The ever same elements are placed next to and on top of each other. What sounds
easy-peasy, however, becomes a challenge whenever architecturally valuable spaces are
to be designed. As soon as, in the past years, a temporary school building was needed,
steel containers were resorted to with the arguments of time and money – a big mistake
since who likes to send their children into a kind of characterless container scenery?
Already with their European School Frankfurt, their first school in modular construction
just a few kilometres away (AIT 5.2016), the Frankfurt NKBAK architectural office demon-
strated that there is another way: “Everyone is happy”, Andreas Krawczyk is pleased to
state and does not exaggerate: Students, teachers like to spend time in the bright building.

The recipe for success is used again

The idea that it can be repeated is included in the principle of modular construction.
Thus it is not surprising that, in view of the lack of school buildings, the team from NKBAK
repeats the success story of their school building according to the modular construction
method. The Kalbach-Riedberg integrated comprehensive school was completed in 2017.
On three floors, two staggered wings contain the room modules; in-between is the wide
hallway which can be naturally illuminated thanks to the staggered arrangement of the
wings. Two colourfully designed staircases provide horizontal access and serve to get
one’s bearings in the building. A future expansion of the building at a 90 degree angle to
the existing construction is planned in order to offer classrooms to future students. The
major difference between the two schools designed by NKBAK is probably the façade:
Die Treppenhäuser und WCs setzen kräftige Farbakzente. • Staircases and the WCs add strong colour accents. The European School Frankfurt shines in a modern aluminium shell whereas the archi-
tects chose wood as the material for the façade for the new comprehensive school. Large
sections of the façade are glazed so that plenty of natural light penetrates the interiors
Große Sanitärbereiche entstehen durch die Modulbreite. • Generated by the widths of the modules, Sanitary areas
and a relationship with the surrounding district of Frankfurt-Riedberg is produced. A cha-
racteristic feature is the perforated façade panelling of Douglas-fir boards with windows
behind them that can be opened. Thus ventilation does not pose any problems since the
façade also has the function of preventing falls and break-ins. Nicole Kerstin Berganski
and Andreas Krawczyk repeatedly resorted to wood-module construction but they were
not tempted to design the same school all over again: They only slightly modified the
modules on which the new school is based, but due to the wooden façade the compre-
hensive school in Kalbach-Riedberg is clearly differs from its large sister. When the cubi-
cle cells were delivered, only the base plate existed on the construction site and from
then on everything proceeded very fast. The analogy to Lego blocks is tempting: Stone by
stone, the school grew and this at high speed: The 90 modules with the basic dimensions
of three by seven metres, which started their journey in Austria in the halls of Kaufmann
Bausysteme, reached Frankfurt already with built-in walls, ceilings and windows.

First the rooms are constructed and then the building

What is special is that the supporting frames for the open modules were made of
BauBuche. Compared with laminated timber or similar material of coniferous wood, the
material of laminated veneer lumber produced by Pollmeier allows more slender con-
struction components and furthermore lowers building costs. The timber construction
is openly visible in the school building. The element joints as well are noticeable when
modules are combined to generate larger rooms for the classrooms and the staff room
as well as the canteen. Honesty is the central theme running through the whole project.
The comprehensive school appears to want to explain itself to the viewer: Where two
elements meet, the exterior shell of rough-sawn Douglas-fir boards shows a joint. The
wooden façade reflects the material of the construction; in addition, it clearly shows the
Grundriss Erdgeschoss • Ground floor plan
aging process of the natural material. All the way to the profiles of the window- and
door elements, the building has consistently been implemented in wood, a material
dear to the heart of architects not only because of its aspect of sustainability but also
because of its haptics and its atmospheric qualities. The presence of wood indeed
makes a lively spatial impression which is not reduced by the technical installations.
Unlike in the case of solid construction, there is only a small storage mass present
which is why the school has been equipped with ceiling radiators instead of under-floor
heating. Mechanical ventilation and heat exchangers were done without. With their two
modular school buildings, NKBAK demonstrate that architectural solutions with charac-
ter are possible despite restrictions as to finances and time. Whether for a school or an
office, a hotel or a flat, modular construction invites to think ahead.

148 • AIT 5.2018