Primary School De Bron Sint-Gillis
Lens°Ass 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:
Engelandstraat 49-51, 1060 Sint-Gillis
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Client:
GO! Education of the Flemish Community
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Keywords:
School grounds
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Contest:
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Programme:
3 nursery classes , 6 classes primary education, dining area, multipurpose room
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Area:
1072m2
buitenaanleg: 397m2
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Number of classrooms:
9
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Completion:
2010
Integration of a primary school in the Brussels-Midi station neighbourhood
The GO! Flemish Community Education wanted to reorganise primary education in Sint-Gillis. Two existing schools have merged and have been housed in estate new site in the Brussels Midi train station neighbourhood. The new school accommodates a nursery school and a primary school for about 50 pupils.
This particularly interesting school building was completed by Lens°Ass Architects in 2010. This came about within the framework of the Open Call by the Flemish Government Architect. The designer focused his attention on the integration of the school in this dense urban neighbourhood.
In an unconstrained manner, the building integrates in the formal vocabulary of its environment.
In the street scene, the school building occupies two building lots. This division is still perceptible, both in the internal structure and organisation, and in the façade articulation. The long-drawn-out windows refer to the vertical rhythm of the street. The architecture has been conceived in a particularly compact and space-saving manner in order to create as much open space as possible.
Three storey floors are fi lled in with classrooms. The ground fl oor, the ‘piano nobile’, is the storey where an open plan is realised. With the entrance hall, the room for after-school care, the multi-purpose room and the circulation node, this is the centre of the building. Moreover, maximum openness towards the street and the playground is created at this level. The dining area is located under the multi-purpose room, in the ‘souterrain’, partially submerged under the ground level. Via a large staircase, which can also be used as a seat or grandstand, the dining area is also directly accessible from outside. The secretariat and associated rooms are located on the top floor.
The building is endowed with symbolism: leaf motifs on the façade and distinct green sanitary casings allude to growth and development.
The playground invites children to play. With the exception of a certain number of maintenance works, the existing building at the back of the site will be completely preserved in its current state. This building serves as a covered outdoor playing area. On a smaller scale, the toilet cabin in this building volume replicates the profi le of the shed-shaped structure.