De Toermalijn primary school in Rotterdam-Zuid
Korteknie Stuhlmacher architects
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Status:
Realized
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Education level:
Primary Education (pre-school + primary)
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Number of classrooms:
4
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Completion:
2007
A semi-permanent extension with an austere character and a lot of possibilities.
In Zuidwijk, a post-war multicultural neighbourhood in Rotterdam Zuid, the nursery and primary school De Toermalijn was extended by four classrooms in 2007. Previously, architects Korteknie and Stuhlmacher had been involved in a design and research project on temporary and semi-permanent educational buildings and high-quality education housing in general. This resulted in the project ‘school-Parasites’. With this project the Wimby! (Welcome in my backyard!) foundation exposed the unacceptable quality of the customary temporary housing of school buildings with three small, parasite-like school buildings in the satellite town of Hoogvliet in Rotterdam. The aim was to find a high-quality alternative for the standard units that were generally used to respond to the shortage of places at schools. Due to the fact that these emergency classrooms are usually kept for much longer than planned, whole generations of children attend lessons in boring and hardly inspiring school environments.
For the architects ‘De Toermalijn’ assignment was the beginning of a series of prototype designs for classrooms for semi-permanent use. The available budget was low compared to that of a permanent building, but still exceeded the budget that would have been required for the container classrooms that are generally used. In return, the building offers a lot more comfort, not in the least because corridors and sanitary facilities have been incorporated.
The one level construction has been conceived as a simple corridor school with classrooms on one side and the sanitary facilities, storage rooms and cloakrooms on the other. The tight beam volume is articulated by the canopy above the entrance, the eaves at facade of the classrooms and a small superstructure containing the teachers’ room. The design is based on the possibilities of a prefabricated timber construction system. Such a system keeps the cost down and shortens the term of execution. The system consists of crosswise glued sheets of coniferous wood which are delivered sawn to size and on site fitted on a socket. The wooden construction system is clearly felt in the interior due to the visible wooden walls and ceilings. On the exterior, the cornice was finished in wooden boards and painted grey. In the lowest register the windows and black-and-white coloured cement gable panels together form the rhythm of a bar code.
Despite its simplicity, the plan offers a lot of possibilities. The classrooms can be opened towards the corridor thanks to the glass sliding doors. The storage spaces that are fitted with large windows can be used as additional workplaces. The classrooms also have large windows that look out onto the playground. Consequently, the classrooms can be extended outwardly as well. The idea was also to offer the classes the possibility to work across classrooms, by mutually connecting them with sliding panels. Roof domes provide both the corridor and classrooms with ample light. All these measures result in a pleasant school building which takes its position in this neighbourhood in a very self-conscious way.