Royal Technical School Dendermonde


Buro II

  • Status:

    Realized

  • Education type:

    GO! Education of the Flemish Community

  • Education level:

    Technical Secondary Education

  • Address:

    Begijnhoflaan 1, 9200 Dendermonde

  • Client:

    GO! Education of the Flemish Community School group 18

  • Keywords:

    Masterplan

  • Contest:

    Open Oproep 2

  • Programme:

    1st stage of masterplan: classrooms, 4 cookery classrooms, administration, kitchen and dining area, toilets

  • Area:

    3401m2

  • Number of classrooms:

    26 classrooms


Rationalisation of the school site on the basis of a masterplan

The new building of the Royal Technical Athenaeum is the first phase of a masterplan to build a complete secondary technical school on the sites by the old fortress wall at Bastion VIII in Dendermonde. The project is related to the existing Koninklijk Technisch Atheneum with a middle school, primary school and nursery school which is located next to it.

The project consists of a simple block of classrooms of 3,400 m2 to accommodate pupils in the ‘soft sector’ who previously still had their lessons at a different location in the Leopold II laan in Dendermonde. Some of the pupils were already accommodated on the site in the old building of the former municipal Jongensschool (Boys’ School) on the Begijnhoflaan.

The masterplan consists of a strip of buildings which follow the fortress wall and at the same time form an axis perpendicular to the large school building. A number of future extensions are already being taken into account in the strip, and together form a coherent spatial design. The future extension for the practical classrooms for hairdressing will have to be built on the southern side of the current new building. A free-standing sports hall and classrooms for the ‘heavy sector’ to the north of this will complete the strip of buildings in three further phases.

The new building is a simple, compact rectangular structure consisting of three levels around a rectangular inner courtyard. Part of the structure on the ground floor has been omitted, marking the entrance to the building and the inner courtyard. The sanitary facilities are also located there so that they are easily accessible both from the building and from the inner courtyard.

The building is organized around the inner courtyard. Three of the four wings are built with classrooms on one side of the corridor, facing outside, while the corridors look out onto the inner courtyard. From here you can get a good overview of all the movement, both in the corridors and in the classrooms. One wing has classrooms on both sides of the corridor. The stairwells are located diagonally in two corners of the building. Where the corridor has been extended as far as the side elevation, a window at the end of the corridor provides a remarkable view.