New school LOŠBATES

The school aims to create a new heart and symbol for the union of LOŠBATES. It is conceived as an open cloister, an articulated multi-functional ring connecting four separate program clusters into one coherent form surrounding a small forest. This cloister is flexible both visually and functionally. It serves as an entrance, as a corridor, as a covered outdoor area, as a gathering space, as an informal classroom and much more. Unlike the traditional cloister, it’s open ended and permeable.

The authors met the requirements of the assignment to the highest degree and fulfilled the expectations of the client. The architectural expression is appropriate for a new institution that forms a common background for 4 municipalities. The jury appreciates the symbolism of the 4 buildings connected by an ambit around a common courtyard, which makes the urban division of the overall volume of the building into smaller masses and units look favourable. The integration of the large volumes of gymnasiums into the area is sensitive. The volume of the building on the underground level (especially parking spaces and circulation) can be optimised without significantly affecting the dispositional design of the school's operation. The southern and western facades of the building, facing the individual dwellings, maintain a maximum height of 2 storeys; the extension provides for a volume above this level, but is oriented north towards the woodland and east towards the sports complex, so will not adversely affect the existing development. The Panel anticipates that by refining the design of the building in line with the comments of the client, the proposal has a very good potential for adaptability without compromising a successful concept.

A new approach to children's education requires a distinctive architectural form. We propose a ground floor, barrier-free atrium school, a school that allows children to learn and spend their breaks outdoors while being safe within its walls. It does not, however, close in on itself. The site is set in a beautiful setting on the edge of the woodland, the school is in maximum visual contact with it, it also opens onto a new park with play areas and an orchard for the public to use. The buildings are designed as timber frame structures. The timber is evident externally and internally and, together with the green roofs, integrates into the context of the site.

The design fulfilled the requirements of the brief and the expectations of the client to a very high degree. The authors have worked out a very well developed dispositional solution of the school operation, sufficient in area, but at the same time economical, logical and functional. The design delivers a balanced and restrained architectural expression; the questionable scale of the linear action of the north and south elevations seems to be influenced by the promotion of the division between the first and second level sections. The design responds well to and relates well to the adjacent woodland and attractive natural environment. The Panel recommends that the issue of locating the linear parking bund at the southern edge of the site (it is more preferably located on the northern side of the site, by the woodland for example) is further addressed.

In a naturalistic area, affected by forests and lakes, the new school design purpose is to be in harmony with its surrounding environment. Within the whole complex, we choose to keep low the buildings height, maintaining horizontal shapes, in order to preserve visual permeability and relationships with the landscape in all directions. According with the ground morphology, the new settlement develops in two different levels, the higher on the north side and the lower on the south side, connected by a system of interior/exterior rampways.

The design fulfilled the requirements of the brief and the client to a high degree. The jury appreciates the legible and functional urban zoning into a belt of playgrounds and green areas by the forest, as well as a common middle, service and community zone and a southern compact single-storey development with courtyards for teaching. The intimate atmosphere of the teaching spaces is beneficial, while at the same time providing sufficient variation in teaching spaces where modern teaching trends can be more easily applied. The concept of a residential 'street' within the site provides a new vibrant public space for the community, while at the same time being a successful urban design response to the local context. The clear and welcoming concept of a school campus, however, especially by its articulation in the local climatic conditions, will bring a number of issues, in particular the overall less favourable ratio of floor areas to the cooled building envelope, which generates increased investment and consequently operating costs. The Panel recommends that the operationally more difficult connection of the gymnasium, auditorium and cafeteria to the classroom complex be further addressed. The clean urban concept can easily suffer by implementing a dry-warm-foot connection; the jury also points out the poorer adaptability of the concept in the event of a major intervention in the number and size of classroom spaces.

"One of the most important needs of a child is learning by doing" Christopher Alexander To create a school means for us to create a building that itself would be a kind of experiment, an open structure conducive to creative exploration and flexibly adapting to change. Instead of anonymous, typical, monotonous structure, we propose a building that is spatially rich, surprising, which stimulates curiosity, thinking and creativity. The school is like a small village with classes placed like houses in garden – a place for children to learn, to play and to discover.

This proposal impressed the jury for its spatial concept and cluster work with the school's internal program. Although the design appears to be a very fragmented pavilion solution, it is in fact a single block very compact scheme. The design is appropriately scaled and consistently adheres to connectivity. However, this solution is not suitable for the local climatic conditions and the resulting maintenance needs and its implementation would require a strong change in the massing and design concept of the proposal.