Schönbuchschule

Stuttgart, Germany
Photo © Dietmar Strauss
© Dietmar Strauss
Photo © Dietmar Strauss
Photo © Dietmar Strauss
Photo © Dietmar Strauss
Photo © Dietmar Strauss
Photo © Dietmar Strauss
Photo © Dietmar Strauss
Photo © Dietmar Strauss
Photo © Dietmar Strauss
Architects
architekturagentur
Location
Dürrlewangstraße 20, 70567 Stuttgart, Germany
Year
2011

The building ensemble is located in an extensive garden with scattered fruit trees. The complex consisting of two school buildings and a sports hall dating from 1958/59 should undergo a refurbishment to improve energy consumption. Additionally, the sports hall was completely gutted, spatially adapted to modern requirements and brought up to the state-of-the-art in all technical respects. Two new emergency stairs complement fire safety requirements.

The project concept aimed at preserving the design vocabulary of the original buildings and re-interpreting it with contemporary materials with regard to today’s requirements. Pupils and teachers should be given the possibility to identify with their school. The aspect of recognition should be improved and supersede the uniform 1950s/60s architecture.

The brick façades were to a great extent replaced by an insulated and back-ventilated panel system, the format of which makes reference to the structure of the brickwork and allows a modern interpretation. The panels were used with their natural material characteristics in terms of colour and surface texture instead of finishing them with an additional coloured coating. Just as the brick dating from the period of construction, they represent an authentic building material in terms of material colour and grain. The plaster façades were maintained as such. Together with parts of the exterior brick walls, they were finished with thermal insulation and a bright plaster surface.

The wooden windows dating from the time of construction were replaced by aluminium-glass elements. The design of the new window elements is reminiscent of stylised bookshelves with books of various widths. What looks like the spine of books on the outside, actually conceals shelves on the inside, which represent defined storage areas in the classrooms and help to keep order. This layout in the form of abstracted books symbolises that a school is a place of acquired knowledge.

The colour scheme applied to the entire building is oriented by the colour circle of Johannes Itten. Warm, radiant colours were used. The effect of the three selected shades of yellow and orange is reinforced with calm background shades in white and grey. In the interior, colours from the yellow to green range were additionally used in the re-designed areas with the intention to continue the colour concept internally.

In the outdoor areas of the school, between the buildings, the schoolyard and in the viewing direction towards also used green spaces, bright plaster surfaces accentuated with coloured façade panels prevail. In the interplay with the green outdoor areas, the used colours convey an open, friendly and inviting impression. Owing to the clear design vocabulary and colour concept, a building ensemble was created within a neighbourhood characterised by a uniform housing development, which sets a conspicuous signal and allows the identification of users and residents with “their” school.

Client
Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart, Hochbauamt

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