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De Zwarte Hond

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• Status:

  Realized

• Education type:

  Free Subsidised Education
  

• Education level:

  Primary Education (pre-school + primary)
  

• Address:

  Heldammersingel, De Meern
  

• Client:

  Amnis/Woningbouwvereniging, Vleutern-De Meern

• Programme:

  3 primary schools, library, community space, classrooms for craft activities, sports hall, 2 day-care centres for children, 28 appartments

• Number of classrooms:

  42 classrooms
  

Educational cluster as a motor for urban development

This cluster of educational and care facilities is in a Vinex district in Leidsche Rijn. The location is part of the Singelwand, an important traffic axis in the district, and borders on the back of the park. The long plot and different functions were the reason for dividing up the design into three buildings. The long building which accommodates the three schools is located next to the park. The sports hall is positioned next to this. The two day-care centres for children are located in two separate single floor blocks along the Singelwand. Apartments were built on top of these structures. The complex as a whole has a single identity because of the coordination of materials and design, but the functions can still be seen as separate entities because of their architectural design and specific location.

The three different schools have access from a ‘school path’ which runs between the park and the playground. Each school operates independently and has its own playground, its own entrance with a central hall and stairway and its own basic facilities. The auditorium, library, a multifunctional space and craft classrooms are used jointly. These are arranged as far as possible in ample rooms with extra possibilities and create an added value which would not have been feasible if each school had to achieve its own aims separately. The three schools are located in the long building next to each other and are connected by a broad through corridor. The organisation of each school is fairly similar.

Nevertheless, each school had to be given its own place and its own identity within the cluster of schools. In the design, the individual character of the school is particularly  revealed by the different designs for the playgrounds on the ground floor and by the meandering contours of the building. In contrast, the upper floor is architecturally designed as a unit in the form of a long structure with a terrace along the entire length, facing the park. This means that there is a maximum awareness of the park from the school, and from the park the cluster of schools appears as a single building which forms the horizon on the edge of the park.

The sports hall consists of two halls which can be joined together to create one large space. The entrance to the sports hall branches off the ‘school path’. In addition, the sports hall serves an important community function and is intensively used after school hours and at weekends. The design and use of materials corresponds to that in the school building.

The day-care centres for children operate independently of each other. The largest day- care centre comprises two playgroups for toddlers and a separate area for after-school care for children aged 4-12, in addition to the group areas for 0-4 years. The toddlers’ playgrounds are safety enclosed in an inner garden between the school building and the children’s day-care centres. The access from the 28 apartments above the day-care centres is along the Singelwand and there are galleries at the back with a view of the inner garden and the park behind it. The apartments themselves mainly face onto the broad canal.