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Entwurf • Design Chestnutt_Niess Architekten, Berlin
Bauherr • Client Gebäudewirtschaft Stadt Köln
Standort • Location Genovevastr. 58-62, Köln
Nutzfläche • Floor space 6.600 m 2
Fotos • Photos Werner Huthmacher, Berlin
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More information on page 128
GENOVEVA HIGHSCHOOL
IN KÖLN-MÜLHEIM
„Die Förderung des Miteinanders When the Genoveva-Gymnasium was awarded the Prize
of the Jury of the 2011 German School Award, the school
und der Kommunikation stand bei der ensemble, which had developed over 150 years, was al-
Planung für uns im Vordergrund.“ ready bursting at the seams. The extension by Chestnutt
Niess Architekten provides pupils and teachers with a
Prof. Robert Niess sports hall, library, cafeteria, laboratories and atrium on
3,400 square metres beneath an airy roof.
T he grammar school, affectionately called Geno by the school
community, has repeatedly adapted to the respective political
and social conditions over the past decades. It was founded in 1876,
complemented with a prestigious new building in 1911, seriously da-
maged in World War II, renovated in the 1950s and extended several
times up to the 1970s — in the end, a heterogeneous structure had
emerged which did not reflect at all what the Genoveva Gymnasium
was awarded the German School Construction Prize for and called a
gem of a school in Mülheim. The Genoveva has long since ceased to
be a school for girls, integration is the big issue. Today 700 pupils
from 35 countries attend the grammar school, which has agreed on
four formative values: tolerance, participation, self-confidence and su-
stainability, which should also be expressed in the new building.
Grundriss Sockelgeschoss • Basement floor plan Grundriss Hochparterre • Mezzanine floor plan Chestnutt Niess Architekten from Berlin complemented the old buil-
ding with a U-shaped four-storey extension made of reinforced con-
crete, which now forms an inner courtyard with its transverse wings.
A translucent membrane-like roofing of air cushions makes the atrium
with an amphitheatre of seating steps, exhibition areas and a patio a
bright and lively place for students and staff. Multi-storey galleries
around this market place provide access to the new classrooms. The
various insights and vistas give the centre a stimulating spatial dra-
maturgy for everyday school life. The compact design has a plinth
area in contrasting colours, which divides the building into two hal-
Grundriss 1. Obergeschoss • Floor plan level +1 Grundriss 2. Obergeschoss • Floor plan level +2 ves, both inside and out, visually and spatially. On the two lower
floors is the Casa Nero, which is mainly used for special purposes —
the single-field sports hall, the library and the student canteen. The
upper floors, designed in light shades, the so-called Casa Bianca ac-
commodates the classrooms and laboratories. The entire building is
barrier-free, designed in keeping with the requirements of the latest
energy-saving regulations and guarantees the required all-day care.
Plenty of light, air and space characterise the new self-confidence of
Längsschnitt • Longitudinal section Querschnitt • Transversal section the extension and the Genoveva complex.
AIT 5.2020 • 089
