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Marlies Rohmer

Photos: Jeroen Musch, Ad van Denderen, Alexander van der Meer

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• Status:

  Realized

• Education type:

  Municipal Education
  

• Education level:

  Primary Education (pre-school + primary)
  

• Address:

  Terwestenstraat 105, 2525 The Hague
  

• Client:

  Municipality of The Hague, Education, Culture and Science Department (OC&W) The Hague, Tetteroo Leidschendam

• Keywords:

  Community school

• Programme:

  primary school, pre-school care, meeting room and language class for parents, gymnasium, crèche

• Area:

  2.750m²
  

• Number of classrooms:

  24
  

A multicultural meeting place for the neighbourhood

Het Spectrum primary school is located in the Schilderswijk in The Hague, which is known as a multicultural district. In fact, the school population comprises 32 different nationalities. The old school building was replaced by a new building with 24 rooms for groups. There are also two classrooms in the building for pre-school reception classes, a meeting place for parents and a classroom for Dutch lessons for parents. With its three floors, the new school building fits in well in the surrounding residential fabric. The location of the playgrounds at the front breaks the 19th century building block open, marking the school’s distinct public character.

Space is tight on the plot and the school buildings are positioned in such a way that this results in a very special urban architectural situation. Unlike the houses at the back, where the garden is concealed from the street by the structures of the houses, the situation is completely reversed for the school. The main structure of the school lies against the gardens and the open space of the playground faces onto the street. The two playgrounds form a break in the wall on the street. The communal areas have been placed in the middle section. The gym is on the ground floor, and can also be used as a theatre. This hall has a glass wall onto the street creating an attractive visual contact between the activities in the school and in the street. Because of the height that is required, the gymnasium is at a slightly deeper level in relation to the pavement which runs along it. The central, double staircase adds a theatrical element to the stage. The transparent plastic industrial curtains mean that it is still possible to divide the gymnasium from the corridors around it without detracting from the experience, the views or daylight.

The compact building has a symmetrical link consisting of two L-shaped building blocks as the basic plan. One playground belongs to the crèche, the other to the primary school. Space was really used to the full here. The relatively small plot meant that the building had to have three stories and space had to be used in multiple ways. In order to provide the maximum playground area for the primary school, part of the roof was turned into a sports field. The classrooms are located in the two L-shaped wings on either side of a central area. Because of the compact arrangement the staffroom is completely in the middle of the building, but with the inventive use of glass walls and daylight in the stairwell, it is still a very pleasant space. The central lift serves the whole school building via the gallery.

The building is based on a steel framework. The internal walls are non-load-bearing walls. Therefore the current arrangement is not definitive. The building is flexible in the sense that it could easily be converted and adapted to new types of education. This also allows for the possibility of giving the building a different use in the future. The existing framework would permit the creation of houses or office space.