MPI/SBSO Sint-Niklaas


Jan Maenhout

  • Status:

    Realized

  • Education type:

    GO! Education of the Flemish Community

  • Education level:

    Special Primary Education
    Special Secondary Education

  • Address:

    Eekhoornstraat 1, 9100 Sint-Niklaas

  • Client:

    GO! Education of the Flemish Community School group 17

  • Contest:

    Open call 1

  • Programme:

    wing of classrooms for autistic children in Primary and Secondary education, toilets, multifunctional area, administration, school grounds

  • Area:

    1600m2

  • Number of classrooms:

    11 classrooms


Specifically adapted for the users

On the site the diverse collection of buildings contrasts markedly with the green park environment. The entrance to this school for autistic children is not on the street, but lies centrally on the site close to the boarding house and the bus stop, and parallel to the avenue of beech trees.

The building was designed as an outer skin with recesses. By means of small openings in this protective shell around the building, and soft green lawns, the contact with the outside world is carefully controlled. Any distraction can unbalance these autistic pupils. The result is an introverted patio building, with large openings up to the sky. The daylight is also filtered through translucent glass windows and sky lights.

The special primary and secondary school and the boarding house operate as individual entities. The primary and secondary departments are divided, each with a separate access corridor for the classrooms, which are separated visually and with soundproofing, and each has its own patio as a playground. Every class has direct access to the playground with large sliding french doors. The administrative section is on the first floor and looks out onto the surrounding area. The different entities can be identified from the circulation area by the use of colours and materials to help structuring school life in a clear way.

The individual character of the pupils and the way in which they relate to their own world is expressed by the architecture and the organisation of the building. The building shelters its inhabitants from the outside world, but allows them to make contact in a careful way.