The new building for the optional after-school program is a solid wood construction that complements the existing buildings completed in 2002. Following an in-depth study conducted by our office, we were able to translate the school’s user profile into a unique spatial concept and select the most suitable building site. The cubature and wooden façade of the new one-story building mirrors the shape and materials of the existing structures.

Based on an open plan design principle, the architecture enables us to create spaces for social interaction that strengthen a sense of community. Each of the rooms facilitates flexible use and can be interconnected where necessary. With all of the doors open, occupants are free to circulate through and around the entire building. The building’s functional core is located along the central axis and houses sanitation, storage and technical facilities, with two group classrooms and a relaxation room at either end. This layout creates a foyer for the two group rooms on either end and keeps footfall in the corridors to a minimum.

By opting for a solid wood construction, we were able to deliver large sections of the structure in prefabricated form and complete the entire build in just seven months. The cross-laminated timber walls arrived from the factory with all of the façade openings and recesses for plumbing and wiring already installed. We could then easily erect the prefabricated wall and ceiling modules on site and bolt them together, completing the assembly of the building shell in just two weeks. To ensure sustainable use of all resources, each of the project’s individual building materials can be disassembled, sorted and recycled.