Page 115 - AIT0522_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Muffler Architekten, Heidrun Muffler, Tuttlingen
Foto: Muffler Architekten, Tuttlingen Standort • Location Hemsbacher Straße 24-30, Osterburken
Bauherr/Schulträger • Client Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis
Nutzfläche • Floor space 11.064 m
2,
Bruttorauminhalt • Gross volume 48.028 cbm
Baukosten • Building costs 26,4 Mio. Euro (Entwurfsstand, brutto)
Zeitplan • Time table Spatenstich: 03/2022, Fertigstellung: 08/2024

I n our view, schools are lively places of gathering. They have rooms which stimulate
thinking and imagination yet, at the same time, radiate cosiness and comfort and
offer space for personal development. In this way, the school as a “house of learning”
is to become a place full of character where the students feel good, microcosm, a habi-
tat. After the demolition of the existing building, the goal is to design a school campus
together with the sports building and the secondary school. We see a special feature of
our design in the staggering of the three-storey building volumes. The latter are located
along a shared access axis but are staggered in height. This has the advantage that the
construction mass attains a smaller scale and is thus better integrated in the topography Grundriss Ebene O • Floor plan level 0
of the site. In addition, outside projections and recesses result which, in turn, produce
smaller courtyard areas and squares. The existing Osterburken all-day grammar school
has very large open spaces, outside as well as inside. Unfortunately, nowadays this is
no longer able to be provided since it is no longer being promoted to this extent. Never- Grundriss Ebene 1 • Floor plan level 1
theless, for us the open hallways zones have been a major concern. This is where areas
for the informal, spontaneous exchange among the students are planned. During the
teaching time, the hallway zones function as “extended classrooms”. The hallways are
generously supplied with daylight above all by the two atriums and thus offer a high
quality of stay. These two courtyards and a multipurpose break- and auditorium area
covered with a glass roof bring daylight, greenery and a good atmosphere into the buil-
ding. The interplay of shadow and light is to offer a pleasant ambience as a counterpart
to the stricter theme of learning. One of the two atriums has deliberately been joined
to the open-plan canteen. The open space which links all the floors in building con-
struction 1 produces a large space for the auditorium. On days with inclement weather,
the upper zones arranged around it can be used as break areas.

Diverse outdoor spaces and green areas

The outdoor areas have a differentiated sequence of differently structured outside
zones which can be used in many ways and are to help the students relax during their
breaks. At Hemsbacher Strasse, in the south, a spacious forecourt is produced whereas
the north side of the building has a canteen courtyard in front of it. The latter runs into
two schoolyards which are embedded in the site like terraces. The upper schoolyard
is a generous place for lingering and moving around and is structured with a tree ca-
nopy analogous to the canteen courtyard. A staircase with seating steps leads to the Grundriss Ebene 2 • Floor plan level 2
lower schoolyard with a miniature playing field and additional play- and sports op-
portunities. On the west side of the building, a small studio courtyard has been desi-
gned which makes teaching and working outside possible. The area of the demolished
building, has been designed as a landscape park. It is the connecting link between the
grammar school, the existing secondary school and the sports hall. Various trees are
to make it possible to experience the seasons. The façade is designed to be homoge-
nous across all the classroom areas with an alternation of wood and glass. Where
technology is concerned, the school has been planned according to the latest standard.
With its straightforward approach, the design follows the simplifying principles of con-
struction which are to ensure a smooth process. Numerous elements can be prefabri-
cated. All the constructive elements are to be made of durable, biologically harmless
and ecological materials – this above all in view of a sustainable operation of the buil-
ding and its maintenance. Craftsmanship quality, familiar materials with attractive ad-
ditions in functional layouts are to support this. We as the architects look at our plan
from the design point of view where the principle of order and clarity is always obser-
ved. The new school will be filled with life and “occupied” by the students and the
teachers. We hope that an interplay of architects and users will give this school buil-
ding its uniqueness and that everyone will take pleasure in it.

AIT 5.2022 • 115