'Koorenspoor' Primary School Groningen
DAAD
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Status:
Realized
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Education type:
Municipal Education
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Education level:
Primary Education (pre-school + primary)
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Address:
Molukkenstraat 1-3, 9715 Groningen
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Client:
Municipality of Groningen
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Keywords:
Community school
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Programme:
school, day care centre for children, entrance building
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Area:
1.950m2
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Number of classrooms:
11
Contemporary pavilions in a park environment
The original school in Groningen was built after the Second World War and it was first extended in the 1990s with a higher storey. In 2002 the school had to be extended again with a day care centre for children and 11 classrooms. The building programme was divided into three blocks in order to maintain the character of individual pavilions in the park. The three structures are linked to the existing buildings: the entrance building of the school, the new classrooms by the gymnasium and the day care centre for children by the municipal wharf. This means that only a minimum of free space was ‘used up’, creating a large central open area between the new structures. This empty space is the centre of the Vensterschool and creates a view towards the park. In cooperation with the municipality of Groningen, measures were taken to ensure that the playground seems to run into the park. The playground and the park have become a single, large open space. The younger children mainly play in the playground, under the supervision of teachers. The older children are slightly more adventurous and play in the park further away from the playground.
The construction of brick and timber creates a clear identity. Because of the coordination of the use of materials, there is a strong link between the three new structures. As the Vensterschool is divided into a number of entities, a joint entrance is very important to ensure cohesion and help it to run smoothly. The offices of the location manager, the head teacher and the secretaries are located in the entrance building. Parents can drop their children off under the large canopy without entering the school.
The sense of being at home is a key element in the day care centre. For this reason all the amenities are collected together under one roof. The empty space in the centre reinforces the experience of space of the saddle roof. By positioning solid structures in the building, it is divided up creating different areas. The low height of the guttering at 2.20 m reduces the size of the building, adapting it to the very smallest children.
The school building is a compact structure consisting of three stories. It responds to the specific methods of Dalton education, which divides up into two spatial spheres. There are quiet places for traditional teaching, as well as work places where children work on their tasks individually or in groups. Three structures and a number of walls were placed on every floor, creating and defining the different spaces – the classrooms and the workplaces.
The three new structures are interconnected with a covered passageway of steel frames and a wooden roof. This light structure ensures that the open views from the street into the park are retained. The passageway symbolises the unity of the various separate structures of the Vensterschool so that there is easier access between the buildings. Coloured glass panels were fitted in the roof in cooperation with the artist Annelies Dijkman. Each glass panel contains a fragment of the world map in a number of colours. In good weather the coloured images are projected onto the ground by the sun.