Extension School Building

Witterswil, Switzerland
Photo © Börje Müller

School reform and new teaching methods require an expansion of the primary school building, primarily requiring group rooms. For functional reasons, the school building is being extended on two sides. This provides most classrooms with a directly accessible group room, easily visible from the classroom. The southern extension closes off the building on this side, and the corridor is no longer aligned with the facade. The group rooms are fully glazed, allowing light to enter as if through a skylight opening outwards. Externally, the southern extension defines the building's boundary with the footpath leading into the town center. A chamfered shape softens the sharp corner facing the footpath and gives it the appearance of a head building. The northern extension, in contrast, keeps the corridor open to allow for future expansion.

Group rooms are smaller than classrooms, serve different functions, and require distinct spatial proportions and lighting. The existing plastered facade with punched windows is therefore only partially extended. Instead, the extensions feature angled facade lines and a non-load-bearing facade made of glass and wood. The formal and material differentiation of the extensions results in a balanced relationship between "hard" and "soft" facade elements and breaks up the monumental appearance of the long building. Vertical larch wood louvers are used to structure and shade the facade. These are irregularly placed, run in front of the window and facade elements, and cleverly conceal the ceiling edges. This gives the extensions greater homogeneity and expressiveness. Part of the northern extension is structurally and design-wise adapted to the existing classrooms. The group rooms located there can be converted into a classroom on each floor at any time.

Photo © Börje Müller
Photo © Börje Müller
Architects
Beck Oser Architects
Year
2019
Project Status
Built

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