'De Regenboog' Primary School Grimbergen
Van Geystelen - Thys architecten - Bureau Bouwtechniek
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Status:
Realized
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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:
Brusselsesteenweg 99, 1850 Grimbergen
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Client:
School group Midden-Brabant
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Contest:
Open Call 3
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Programme:
reception area, administrative area, classrooms, library – information corner, staffroom, conference hall, tv room, storage space
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Area:
1600m2
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Number of classrooms:
15 classrooms and 1 multifunctional hall
Economical versus subtle and playful
The team of architects had an ambition to build a primary school worth leaving in place for a very long time. The preliminary study for the new school building in Grimbergen focused on the limited budgetary possibilities and the long term operating and maintenance costs of the building. The office’s aim was to design a building that worked: a building that was designed as logically and rationally as possible. The building is the result of the wishes and demands of the client and the users, the regulations, the context, the budget, and the contribution and the teamwork of all stakeholders. The architects hope that the new building project is comprehensible and easy to use for the children. A building is an educational project.
The school was incorporated in the suburban fabric. The buildings in the area – mainly residential units – have a clear front facing the street, a façade with a door and windows bordering on public space - and a back façade opening onto a garden (private space). The new school also has a street side (playground) and a garden side. On the garden side where the pupils and teachers will cultivate the school gardens, the classrooms are visually extended with patios where flowers and plants can create a domestic atmosphere. The front is completely glazed and a roof overhang provides natural protection from the sun.
The building itself has a simple organisation: you go into a multifunctional space which is partly two stories high. From this space there is a corridor with classrooms on both sides and an open staircase up to the first floor, which has a similar plan. The building that was created is very “neutral” and provides a framework which can be arranged in a very free manner. In this neutral framework the building can evolve with the changing needs of the users. The classrooms are plain; the concrete walls have a simple grey cladding.
On the other hand, the wall between the corridor and the classrooms has a playful design: alternately there are recessed areas in the corridor or in the classrooms. This creates areas for coats and satchels, recesses with doors, recesses with a water fountain, areas of glazing which are like a sort of display window between the classroom and the corridor, etc. The domes in the ceiling are glazed with different colours resulting in extra differentiation in the corridor, which also has an orienting effect. The walls of cupboards in the classrooms are also multicoloured.
The new building is a first phase. The design for the playground and the canopy will not be executed for the time being. However, both form an important part of the spatial experience of the school environment and are planned in the second phase. The strength of the design also lies in the fact that during this next phase, when the existing nursery school classrooms have to be demolished, a second wing can be perfectly connected to the multifunctional hall.