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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. GO! school Ninove in Belgium by ABSCIS ARCHITECTENOctober 17th, 2017 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: ABSCIS ARCHITECTEN For the campus of the Community Education in Ninove a master plan was first of all put together. This master plan would develop a total vision, split in three stages. The first stage includes building a primary school, a secondary school and a laboratory. When putting this master plan together, a number of issues were uncovered which sharply reduce the campus’ potential quality:  Image Courtesy © Strabag
 Image Courtesy © Strabag the campus is located within a building block in the city’s centre, locked away behind existing houses along the Dreefstraat and Astridlaan. There is no quality presentation of the campus along the street and the only view on the surroundings is the destitute buildings along the Dreefstraat and two existing parking lots. The beautiful green internal area is barely visible from the street and the site is harshly cut up with ‘temporary’ pavilions and classroom containers.  Image Courtesy © Strabag  Image Courtesy © Strabag In the design that we propose, a solution is offered by using two new buildings. The Atheneum and secondary school receive a more urban face along the stately Astridlaan, whereas the new primary school together with the existing Kindergarten are provided with a soft green identity along the smaller Dreefstraat. The green interior is repaired by using both longitudinal vistas and extended axis for pedestrians. New primary school As already mentioned, in this first stage of the master plan, the primary school (and one classroom of Kindergarten) will be located in a vigorous and spirited unit along the Dreefstraat from nr. 31 to 35 and the old, mainly empty, destitute Atheneum buildings will have to be removed.  Image Courtesy © Strabag  Image Courtesy © Strabag The building connects with the existing separating wall and the street side facade of the new unit will be withdrawn slightly, aligning with the only detached villa in the street. This will cause a local widening of public space, offering a place of respite in the reasonably busy Dreefstraat in terms of traffic. Parents who bring their children to school on foot, can drop them off here and pick them up again after school. Motorised traffic and cyclists can cycle and drive along the building to the buildings behind and the parking lot on campus. The primary school’s programme is more than just a repetition of classrooms. Different purposes within the building require a different net height (PE-room, classrooms, canteen,…) and by letting the roof line in the unit partially follow these different heights along the street side, but still connecting it with the neighbours’ cornices, an amazing play of roofs is created, typifying the building. This is extended by the beam unit which extends inside towards the campus, creating classrooms on the top floor with variable inclining ceiling heights in which the feeling of a large open space is experienced.  Image Courtesy © Strabag  Image Courtesy © Strabag In order to strengthen the visual relation with the campus, a wide corridor centrally in the building has also been planned, in addition to an entrance alongside the building. Underneath this covered outside space the main entrance to the primary school will be located. Both on the left and the right of this covered play area the two largest spaces of the primary school will be located: the canteen and PE-room. Both will be separated from this outside space by large door-holding windows causing these three spaces to form one unit during big events such as open days. The front façade has been kept reasonably closed on purpose, namely to increase the building’s privacy. At crucial locations, such as the entrance, the central stair case and the canteen, large windows are planned in order to strengthen the link with the city surroundings.  Image Courtesy © Strabag  Image Courtesy © Strabag Next to the primary school, a private play and outside area is planned, fitting in perfectly well with the campus’ overall green character. The play area will be mainly tarmac but a green zone is also planned, the shape of which connects with the other green zones amidst the campus’ paving. That is why for example two trees will be planted in this green zone, as an extension to the existing trees on campus. The building’s L-shape provides shelter for this play area and locked in between the separating wall with its neighbour and the classroom units, the play area seeks a connection with the existing play areas of the Kintergarten, just round the corner.  Image Courtesy © Strabag  Image Courtesy © Strabag New secondary school This area of campus along the Astridlaan is flanked by two wait facades and used as a parking lot. The design plans for a unit with one part perpendicular onto the Astridlaan and the other parallel to it. By not totally filling up the ground floor with buildings, a maximum accessibility to campus remains guaranteed, on the one hand for all pupils of all different schools but also for the emergency services, which can also reach the inner part this way. The protruding floors extending over the whole width provide however a factual closure of the unit.  Image Courtesy © ABSCIS ARCHITECTEN  Image Courtesy © ABSCIS ARCHITECTEN New laboratory The new laboratory is located centrally on campus and is an extension of one of the already existing buildings. At the location where the new laboratory will be built, there are currently some toilets, which will be taken down. The plan logic of the existing building is extended into the new unit. The existing corridor will be extended in the new laboratory and will end in an outside door giving access to a steel exterior stair case. In order to create a seamless connection with the existing building, the eaves are built higher than they should be. This will confirm the existing building’s clearance zone in the new unit. Part of the new volume will be realised as an overhang, thus creating a covered play area next to the new toilets and continuity between the two existing play areas. The school decided to make this covered play area lockable with glass accordion doors.  Image Courtesy © ABSCIS ARCHITECTEN  Image Courtesy © ABSCIS ARCHITECTEN Materials: Notwithstanding the very different morphology of the new buildings, we have tried to create a connection which shapes and intensifies campus as one unit. Clear and identical materials for all new buildings were the most important way to realise this. The facades are built in a red/brown-grey shaded brick with yellow intonation in order to stay close to the existing buildings on campus. The fencing which closes campus in both streets has a strong visual impact and is specifically shaped. Finally, a lot of attention has been paid to uniform details in order to reach a coherent architectural entity.  Image Courtesy © ABSCIS ARCHITECTEN
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Categories: Autocad, Campus, Laboratory, School |
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