HUBERTUSSTRASSE EDUCATION CAMPUS FUNCTIONAL REFURBISHMENT - Competition (3rd Place)

• Learning
• North
• Public
• Revitalization

ARCHITECTURAL ASPECTS

The design interprets the existing building as a robust spatial framework that is transformed through targeted interventions into an open, light-filled and flexible learning environment. The result is a shared place for learning and everyday life that preserves the autonomy of the individual institutions while fostering exchange, orientation and a sense of community.

The existing building, dating from 1960, is distinguished by its pragmatic structure and organizational efficiency. The sequence of courtyards provides a human scale, clear orientation and spatial generosity – qualities that were partially diminished by later densification and fire safety interventions. Through selective demolition and strategically placed openings in the structural framework, this clarity is restored. The previously fragmented building zones are consolidated into a coherent, permeable structure that accommodates the three educational institutions.

A central Rue Intérieure on the ground floor forms the spatial backbone of the campus. It provides intuitive orientation and connects all shared facilities, including the library, dining area, multi-purpose hall and departments. This high-quality circulation spine is designed as a varied sequence of spaces, linking interior and exterior areas while making movement, encounter and learning tangible aspects of everyday campus life.

At the intersection with the central common area, a new central hall with an atrium is created. The atrium brings daylight deep into the ground floor and into the AHS tower above. New visual connections generate spatial openness and transparency, reinforcing this central space as the identity-defining heart of the campus.

The Rue Intérieure continues along the courtyards and the multi-purpose hall toward the large workshop courtyard. This outdoor space is transformed into an activated environment for learning and recreation, functioning as an open-air studio, break area, or access point to the homebases. A sculptural staircase gives the courtyard a distinctive identity and invites people to linger. All courtyards extend the interior spaces and circulation areas as three-dimensional landscapes, enriching them with daylight, views and high-quality places to stay.

FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS

The shared departments for art and music, the administration and key facilities such as the dining area, library and sports facilities are located on the ground floor. This arrangement ensures that the principal campus functions are equally accessible, barrier-free and efficiently connected for all three institutions. Short circulation routes encourage interaction and strengthen the campus-wide sense of community.

The AHS is organized around the new central hall in Tower 2, while the BAFEP occupies Tower 1, directly adjacent to the practice kindergarten and connected to it via the first floor. Each tower is served by a generous vertical circulation core, providing a clear spatial identity and address within the campus.

The homebases are located on the first floor and serve as the social anchors of secondary education. Their central position minimizes travel distances throughout the school day while providing direct access to potential outdoor learning and recreation spaces on the roofs. The homebases are conceived as clearly defined yet flexibly configurable environments. They are organized into quieter and more active zones and can be separated from the general circulation areas to varying degrees through furniture, lockers or movable partition elements.

The departments for science, mathematics and computer science are consolidated on the second floor of Tower 1, forming a compact MINT centre.

RESOURCE-CONSCIOUS DESIGN

The proposal combines programmatic efficiency with high architectural ambition. The complex spatial programme is accommodated largely within the existing structural grid. The load-bearing structure is modified only where it creates a clear spatial benefit: to introduce daylight into the central hall, increase permeability on the ground floor, activate additional courtyards and improve the circulation between the two towers.

Flexibility is inherent in the robust structural system with its continuous grid of 4.8 m and 2.4 m and is further enhanced through circular interior construction methods. Non-load-bearing modular timber stud partitions with three-layer solid timber panels, timber slat ceilings and demountable floor assemblies are designed to be repairable, dismantlable and reusable. The interior fit-out is conceived as a material bank whose components can be recovered and reused in future refurbishment phases.