BS 'Polderbos' De Pinte


Architettura

'Polderbos' Primary School De Pinte entrance (enlarged view in image gallery)

Photos: Jan Kempenaers

  • 'Polderbos' Primary School De Pinte entrance
  • 'Polderbos' Primary School De Pinte facade
  • 'Polderbos' Primary School De Pinte playing grounds
  • 'Polderbos' Primary School De Pinte classroom
  • 'Polderbos' Primary School De Pinte dining room
  • 'Polderbos' Primary School De Pinte hallway
  •  
  •  
  •  

  • Status:

    Realized

  • Education type:

    Municipal Education

  • Education level:

    Primary Education (pre-school + primary)

  • Address:

    Polderbos 1, 9840 De Pinte

  • Client:

    Municipality of De Pinte

  • Keywords:

    Masterplan

  • Programme:

    classrooms, dining area, toilets, multifunctional hall, administration, school grounds

  • Area:

    2.230m2

  • Number of classrooms:

    8 new classrooms


Architecture as the starting point for an educational project. Densification and optimization of space.

The reorganisation of the site made the school layout comprehensible and identifiable, turning the existing pattern inside out. By adding a new wing which screens off the existing building, the school acquired a new outside wall. In this way, the open space was divided up into two courtyards: an open, U-shaped playground with a view over a park, and a schoolyard at the front along the street. A sculptural overhang above this yard forms the entrance to the school. In addition, the school is accessible via different existing and new entrances.

 

The school opens onto the landscape. Because of the configuration of the old and new buildings, zones are created without any visual or physical boundaries. The courtyard is an open but clearly defined space. The result is a completely new school next to an old school, which suddenly turns into an annex instead of the main building.

The sloping roof of the new building makes the creation of a mezzanine level in the classrooms on the first floor possible. In summer, when the windows are open, this outside terrace becomes an open-air classroom. In every classroom there is a staircase to the upper floor, enriching the traditional pattern of circulation of corridors and classrooms. The staircases and the playground are also accessible via the terrace.

 

The administrative part of the school was moved to the front and the centre. There is contact with the entire school via a corridor which short-circuits the other flows of circulation. After the conversion, the school now has four large halls, which in principle each have a different function, but can also be interchanged. The dining area is at the heart of the school, directly at the entrance where the different flows of circulation come together.

 

Within the limits of the financial and physical norms, the aim is for a maximum transformation of the existing building. The programme is divided up by means of different interventions across the entire site. The project is a mixture of new building, renovation of the existing buildings, with a renewal of the sanitary facilities and the installation of a rainwater tank which was incorporated in the landscape works.

The minimal finish made it possible to maximise the built-up surface area. The structural elements of the new building are at the same time the finish.