area 126 | hamburg

architect: Spengler · Wiescholek architects and city planners

location: Hamburg

year: 2009

The school by the Sandtorpark is the first public building in the newly emerging Hafencity and a part of the urban, dense city quarter. As a result of the scarce property the “hybrid“ building with further day care center, after-school care and canteen for all three units was planned as a compact and space-efficient building.
Apart from the unusual five floor arrangement, the new building takes an unconventional approach on free spaces and further integrates the gymnasium into the cubature in order to create an energetically sensible volume. The “On top of the roof playground“ planned for the Hafencity school turned into a wildly discussed topic during the election campaigns in Hamburg and finally resulted in enthusiastic approval. The architectural concept arranges the school‘s space allocation plan around a central atrium which exposes not only the adjoining rooms with their hallways but also the assembly hall. The atrium establishes short paths and good orientation while the classrooms and the gym can be looked into through large openings.
The playfully slanting window embrasures strike the onlooker in the entire building. They were used as a subtle element to distinguish the building‘s different, cheerful use from the many office and residential
buildings in the area. Handling material and color was an important matter in this project which was carefully coordinated. Conceptually, the school‘s public areas are kept in strong colors, while hallways and classrooms consciously renounce color as these are automatically added by the user.
The exterior facade consists of light danish bricks in beige and grey tones which harmonizes with the exposed concrete used in the building. The building ensemble was certified with the gold Hafencity environmental label which prices projects with outstanding sustainability.