Rietwerde
The largest playground in the Netherlands hosts 400 children daily from two schools, two daycare centres and a nursery. It is cosy, sheltered, and surrounded by greenery. Inside, one group experiments in the science classroom, while another opens the sliding doors to the corridor. The energy-efficient comprehensive school was built entirely according to the wishes of both its clients and users.
Programme
Comprehensive School
Surface
4.500 m² GFA
Architect
Gianni Cito
Team
R. Visser, A. van Dijk
Year
2008 – 2014
Status
Completed
Location
Groningen
Client
OCSW Groningen
Construction
Breed Integrated Design
Installations
Vaatstra BV
Photographer
Thijs Wolzak, Marije Nubé
Small children, welcoming design
The new comprehensive school is a single-storey building arranged around the schoolyard. The entire structure is slightly elevated and surrounded by a wide canopy and steps leading to the inner courtyard. The canopy shields the children from both rain and sun. The steps create a welcoming atmosphere and give the courtyard the feel of an open-air theatre with tiered seating. Each school has its own entrance, and all classrooms are directly accessible from the playground. The classrooms can be adjusted in size as needed, using sliding doors that open onto the spacious corridor behind them.
Design on request
During regular workshops, the users explained their wishes in detail. At their request they share out-of-school care facilities, playrooms, the sports hall, kitchen, teachers’ room, science classroom, and playground. The level of fresh air and the temperature can be adjusted individually for each classroom. The users contributed to the entire process, including the fine-tuning and optimisation of the design.
33% more energy-efficient than the standard
The building is constructed from environmentally friendly, sustainable wood. The school’s Energy Performance Coefficient (EPC) is no less than 33% lower than the required standard. This is achieved through ground-based thermal energy storage, solar panels on the roof, and an exceptionally high insulation value for the thermal envelope. The entire building has an insulating green sedum roof.