'De Klare Bron' Primary School Heverlee
Maccreanor Lavington Architects
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Status:
Realized
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Education type:
GO! Education of the Flemish Community
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Education level:
Primary Education (pre-school + primary)
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Address:
J. Vandenbemptlaan 14, 3001 Heverlee
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Client:
GO! Education of the Flemish Community (Brussels)
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Contest:
Open Call 7
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Programme:
classrooms, multifunctional hall, dining area, staffroom, school grounds
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Area:
1.550m2
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Number of classrooms:
11 classrooms
An architectural concept supporting the educational vision
The GO! school De Klare Bron is situated in the idyllic village of Heverlee. The green site with views over the Arenberg park was once a luxury estate. When a change of use turned it into a school, “barracks” were put up on the site and the country house disappeared into the background. However, the spread-out prefabricated buildings conflicted with the educational concept of social interaction and the energy bills accounted for an enormous proportion of the operating budgets. The Rotterdam architect’s office Maccreanor Lavington Architects, which was selected by Open Call, put forward an inspired proposal in which the villa once again became the visual focus of the school, and a building was designed to meet the school’s contemporary needs and philosophy.
This school’s motto is ‘to live is to learn’. The architecture underlines this by providing stimulating indoor and outdoor areas which contribute to the learning process. The outdoor area is an exciting discovery: a shared vegetable garden, an orchard, the playground, etc. The former informal playing areas, which were created by the location of the prefabricated buildings, inspired the architects to provide a sunny school garden for every classroom. This is a garden which is planted and maintained by the children themselves.
The interior of the new building is also a collection of impressions: the backbone of the building is a 5 metres wide play corridor, a modern paraphrase of the traditional corridor as an area for circulating. In addition to the spatial connection to the classrooms, this space is also a place for learning and encounters which can be used in the learning process, depending on the needs. The common facilities such as the multifunctional hall, the patio and the dining area also open onto this “backbone”. They are strung together without corridors so that all the space can be used as fully as possible. The dining hall, which seems to cautiously tap on the shoulder of the villa, is the crucial link between old and new.
This principle is also adopted in the classrooms. The three classrooms for nursery classes are connected by means of a hall, tunnels and the covered play platform. Together with the playground this forms a sort of mini-village. The classrooms for the primary school open up in every direction; large areas of glazing provide a view over the classroom garden, sliding doors connect with neighbouring classrooms to allow for cooperation, roof lights provide light from above for the computer corner, which is an integrated part of the multifunctional wall furniture. This 2 metre wide “wall” is also a fascinating construction: it combines storage, toilets, a workplace, coat racks, upper lighting and sanitary facilities in a very original way.
The new De Klare Bron is a challenging environment in which the school’s ideal of cooperation and social interaction are stimulated by the architecture.