Artproject ''t Klein Atheneum' Primary school Tienen
Jumana Emil Abboud
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Status:
Design
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Education type:
GO! Education of the Flemish Community
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Education level:
Primary Education (pre-school + primary)
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Address:
Oude Vestenstraat 12, 3300 Tienen
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Client:
The Flemish Government Architect's Team
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Keywords:
Art Commission
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Related project:
Tienen’s i l l uminating reading-room / tree-house
Idea: build a tree-house that will be used as a one-of-a-kind reading room
The first impression I took away after the pleasure of visiting the wonderful school in Tienen was the feeling of searching for breath – of always wanting to look upwards while inside the school building. I was gladdened by the pleasant light entering from the windows above, through the ceiling, or through the open passageways at individual classroom entrances. I called them ‘tunnels of light’ when I later sketched out some ideas for the school.
I had to take account of the issues relating to public/private exposure: I was told, for example, that the school’s architecture was conceived with a specific public law in mind, according to which no public space may have easy visual access into private housing. Because the school is located in the centre of town, its architects devised a plan to keep exposure to the surrounding private homes to a minimum. It would not overlook anyone’s home, nor would anyone in their home be likely to see into the interior of the school. I was intrigued by this private/public relationship. It encouraged or even compelled me to propose something of a tower-like structure: a structure that would rise above the tight enclosure of the school’s physical building.
I was concerned about the safety aspect of building a tree-house that would basically rise above the surface of the school’s roof. But it is not impossible, and I wanted something fairy-tale-like for these children – a secret type of space that they could visit with their class group and teacher, to enjoy reading and imagining. There would be an essential ‘hut’ built in the centre of the foundation, and made of glass and surrounded with leafy greens so as to maintain the private/public policy. In the original sketches, I thought of a grapefruit tree, but I realised this would be impossible for the region. Perhaps the best bet here would be to utilize artificial greenery – plastic shrubs, vines and flowers for example. Any natural tree would require maintenance, and I believe that garden maintenance goes beyond the school’s budget.
I wanted to bring the children something desirable and familiar (the tree-house), and to bring it to an unlikely place (the school’s roof). As an artist, I am always interested in this bringing together of the familiar and unfamiliar. The structure would be primarily built using glass, metal, wood. To camouflage the glass hut (the house) at the top, a garden would be planted all the way around. The readingroom/ tree-house would host one class group at a time (15 students maximum). I wanted to create something that would have a sense of both the magical and the functional. It is functional, because it is a reading-room. And it is magical, in that it respects childhood, and the atmosphere of the fairy-tale.
To access the tree-house, I was reminded of the stair structure in the school hallway, where there used to be an opening (pictured below). A first option could be to have the ladder leading up to the tree-house outside the bark structure, with a net backing around the ladder for protection. The second option would be to have the ladder ascending inside the bark structure of the tree, so that the bark itself would be the shield, protecting the students when climbing.