Artproject 'Baken' Special Secondary Education School Sint-Niklaas
Bren Heymans
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Status:
Design
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Education type:
GO! Education of the Flemish Community
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Education level:
Special Secondary Education
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Address:
Eeckhoornstraat, 9100 Sint-Niklaas
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Client:
The Flemish Government Architect's Team
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Keywords:
Art Commission
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Related project:
Throughout my school career, I was in schools where the infrastructure was worn out and the buildings dilapidated. Repairs and renovation were needed everywhere. If a budget is made available for art in school, it has to contribute in one way or another to the quality of the institution or to generate a tangible added value. De Baken – a school for mentally handicapped pupils – is also in constant need of extra facilities.
The most picturesque spot in the school grounds is the place where the little gardenhouse stands. It’s currently used as a store. Next to it is the playground for kids with autism and similarly pervasive developmental disorders. It’s all pretty bare: a few wornout chairs around the garden house are basically it as far as infrastructure is concerned.
My proposal is to make the location more functional. The little house will be provided with six round openings of varying diameter, turning it into a covered rest area. Two functional sculptures will be placed inside the new architecture. A round structure will be integrated in one of the corners, where it will function as an isolation area.
Isolation or chill-out spaces are a necessary facility for pupils in this group. The round element contains a hollow sitting area with a view outside.
A donkey/sitting sculpture placed in the space is intended primarily for the pupils to touch. They benefit from an environment that stimulates their tactile sense. The donkey is an animal that conjures up a lot of associations in the school context, and the sculpture is also a nod towards a Breugel etching.
The round openings in the garden house are constructed using the recovered bricks. A skeleton of recycled wood is used for the round structure, covered with a mixture of clay and cement. The interior is finished with tadelakt plaster. The donkey sculpture will be done in reinforced concrete.
Execution would occur in consultation with the school and the pupils, making this an educational project too. The grey zones in the presentation will be filled in, with colour, for instance, and extra seats.