BRANDENBERGER KLOTER ARCHITECTS
SCHOOL BIRRWIL
BRANDENBERGER KLOTER ARCHITECTS LB 13 SCHOOL BIRRWIL, is the fifth title of a series of five LONG BOOKS by the architects Oliver Brandenberger and Adrian Kloter. The two Basel-based architects, regard the needs of future users to be a key aspect of conceiving new buildings, forming the basis of their designs. The resulting spaces have a high quality, where people feel comfortable and can develop. This volume begins with an interview conducted and written by Niki Zaugg, with the author Zoë Jenny, which is intended to inspire further discourse. This LONG BOOKS series is aimed at inviting readers to engage with the relevance and function of public buildings. It questions existing structures and identifies requirements, in order to find answers for the contemporary design of public buildings. Other titles about this serie: LB 09 COMMUNITY HALL LAUFENBURG Interview with the podcaster and editor Gülsha Adilji LB 10 SCHOOL PFEFFINGEN Interview with the documentary filmmaker Anna Thommen LB 11 DOUBLE KINDERGARTEN RÜTI Interview with the organization developer Petra Slembek LB 12 SCHOOL AARWANGEN Interview with the urban psychologist Alice Hollenstein
AMAG LONG BOOKS COLLECTION brings together a unique selection of projects that establish new paradigms in architecture. With a contemporary and timeless conceptual graphic language, the 1000 numbered copies of each LONG BOOK will document works with different scales and formal contexts that extend the boundaries of architectural expression.
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“I ONLY SAW VANDALISM IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS THAT DESERVED TO BE VANDALISED.” AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR ZOË JENNY, WITH THOUGHTS FROM THE ARCHITECTS OLIVER BRANDENBERGER AND ADRIAN KLOTER.
The Swiss author Zoë Jenny discovered her love of writing at an early age. She published her first novel “Blütenstaubzimmer” aged 23, attracting worldwide interest. Her books often address complex questions. They cannot always be answered, but there is always an engagement that is moving and inspires consideration.
Why did you agree to take part in this interview? Zoë Jenny: As a thinking person, I’m basically interested in all things. Architecture is an important part of our lives, since we spend a lot of time in it. I grew up in Basel, but travelled a great deal later on, living in major cities such as London, Berlin and New York. The different architecture influenced my aesthetic perception and also my emotional world. Thus, as a thinking person who perceives the world with open eyes, it’s natural to think about architecture. You were a Pro Juventute ambassador for children and young people. Did that commitment play a role in agreeing to take part in this interview? Zoë Jenny: I think it had more to do with the fact that I had a terrible time at school. What do you remember about your primary school building? Zoë Jenny: I attended several primary schools. The first was the “Bläsischulhaus” in Kleinbasel. It’s a large, preservation-listed building. I remember the front entrance, a large, heavy door that made me feel small and weak. I had to use all my weight to push it open. It was an enormous effort and a certain stress to get into the building that you needed to enter. I also remember the way to the sports hall. It was an unattractive 1980s building situated behind the “Bläsischulhaus”.To get from the school building to the sports hall, we had to walk through a tunnel and pass by an air-raid shelter. The tunnel was dark and narrow, forcing us to walk in single file. To allay our fears, we used sing out loud. It was a traumatic experience; nowadays, it would be forbidden to send children through a tunnel like that. Incredible. Zoë Jenny: Yes, the world was different back then. There were no architects who thought about children’s wellbeing. Everything had to fulfil a purpose. Just the way the caretaker wanted (laughs). That sounds awful. Nevertheless, was there a place inside or outside the building where you enjoyed spending time? Zoë Jenny: Not in the building. But I liked it when our teachers hung up our pictures in the corridor or decorated the classroom with an alphabet paper-chain. I also liked the fact that every child had their own cloakroom hook, denoted by an animal. Mine was a turtle. I was always pleased as soon as pupils or teachers appropriated the room in some creative way. You felt taken notice of as a child, rather than controlled by the building. You particularly engaged with the Birrwil school building. What interested you especially? Zoë Jenny: Birrwil School radiates brightness. That’s an important factor, especially in northern countries, where it’s dark for many months. If I had to design a building, I would think a great deal about how the light can shine into the building; and how natural and artificial light can interact. As we know, light has a great effect on people’s wellbeing. I was also interested in the forum and its steps, for a number of reasons: firstly, because
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steps can be used in different ways and secondly because young people like sitting on the floor. Time and again, I see stairs being occupied by young people. So the steps in Birrwil fulfil an important need among young people. They’re a place where you can just chill. Normally, sitting on the floor is a social taboo – especially in an educational institution. It may be a slight exaggeration, but there is something anarchical about such steps in a place of education; looks like a clever move by the architects (laughs). That’s true. You can stretch out in all directions, wherever you want. You can sit where you like. Zoë Jenny: Precisely, you have the freedom to sit anywhere in a place where there aren’t too many other freedoms. It’s brilliant when architecture thinks of things like that and can implement them. A question for the architects: was it a major issue to ensure the steps were built? Architects: No, not at all. Fortunately, there was an awareness of what Zoë Jenny describes. Such a foyer with steps was not required by the brief, but we gifted the jury with an idea. Generally, such gifts are readily accepted. Zoë Jenny, you’ve already mentioned that light is an important factor for people’s wellbeing in a room. Do you think there are other features that educational buildings must provide for children to learn in an ideal way? Zoë Jenny: Constructing an educational building for children and adolescents is an incredible challenge. You create key memories. I’ll never forget the unpleasant architecture of my school building. So there is much to be gained by creating a place where a child can hide or feel safe at the right moment. I think it’s also beneficial if children can help shape the building and live out their creativity. Architecture should not be there just for the sake of architecture, but for the people who live in it. Educational buildings deserve to be designed carefully, because you spend a lot of time in them. You can never overthink how to design them properly. Architects: That also means ensuring that the children can experience the quality of the school building, which is extremely important. Zoë Jenny: Absolutely. It makes children feel that they are taken seriously and are respected. Architects: One nice side effect is that in high-quality buildings, vandalism is suddenly no longer an issue. Nothing gets broken anymore. Zoë Jenny: I can believe that. I only saw vandalism in school buildings that deserved to be vandalised (laughs). People get destructive in places they don’t want to be. Returning to our current considerations: can you sum up what tasks should school buildings assume in future? Zoë Jenny: First and foremost, they should welcome kids the way they are. Nobody should force a child to do something that is inappropriate. That starts with a front door that children find easy to open, without having to force it with all of one’s might. Places of rest are also important. I suggest that everyone should build the way you do (laughs). Another thought with respect to “responsibility”: in Japan, the children clean the school themselves.
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Zoë Jenny: I think that’s really cool. I saw a documentary about that. After lunch, the children clear up the kitchen themselves and clean the entire school building. That no doubt deals with vandalism before it occurs. Architects: Exactly. That has a lot to do with the fact that we must entrust our children with greater responsibility. After all, they can manage! Nowadays, we relieve them of all such responsibility. People should think much more about all the things a school can offer. Zoë Jenny: Schools should address the whole array of social competence much more comprehensively. It would be the perfect place to practise how to take care of something and take on responsibility. THIS INTERVIEW WAS CONDUCTED AND WRITTEN BY NIKI ZAUGG
How do the children react to the measures in Japan? Combined response: They probably don’t have any choice in the matter (laughter).
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BIRRWIL, SWITZERLAND 2020 - 2022
We designed a school building for the Aargau municipality of Birrwil, which invites children to discover. The rooms on the two-storey, compact building are staggered in height and thereby follow the line of the ascending terrain. The core is formed by the diversely usable split-level forum. A competition for a combined kindergarten, primary and secondary school was announced to concentrate all the schools’ rooms at a single location in Birrwil. The new building combines with the existing multifunctional building to form an ensemble that frames as playground and a sports field. We developed the new school building out of the landscape. While the ground floor of the compact volume burrows into the slope, the upper level unfolds on two levels up to the attic, where views in all directions are possible. The building’s compact exterior is on the one hand orientated towards the agricultural and residential buildings that are typical of the region, with a broadly projecting saddle roof, solid gable walls and finely structured wooden in-fill. On the other, its simple grid façade and materials such as concrete and aluminium refer to the neighbouring 1960s building. The windows shielded by the canopy are – very pragmatically – made of wood on the eaves side, while those on the more weathered gable side are made of naturally anodised aluminium. Inspired by the multifunctional hall, the traditional saddle roof consists of non-dyed fibre cement. The main entrance to the courtyard side, which initially resembles a shelter, clearly distinguishes itself from the three side entrances. These are distributed on the head end and on the opposite slope side, where the elevated school garden, used for outdoor classes, and the playground are situated.
Since thermal movement has proved to be the strongest and cheapest “ventilation motor”, two ventilation shafts were integrated into the saddle roof. Fresh air flows in through the small window casements on the façade via large ventilation flaps beneath the roof – enabling ideal lateral ventilation and night cooling. It was therefore unnecessary to use an expensive ventilation system. Natural light shines through the skylight at the roof ridge and the windows on the west façade to provide natural light for the interior down to the ground floor. The even daylight from above thereby creates a pleasant atmosphere and reduces the use of artificial light. The exceptional details in the building include the berthlike rooms above the classrooms. These are integrated directly beneath the saddle roof. Children can climb up to them using a ladder through a circular aperture, where they can hide or use it as a reading niche. A small round glass element allows them to peek back down into the forum. Playful rooms were also designed for the kindergarten. The children can hide behind the curtain, which forms a snail shape when closed. The sliding partition walls and wall surfaces are made of recycled PET bottles. They improve the acoustics and can be used as a pinboard. The only colours in the interior are the blue tiles on the walls of the toilets and behind the washbasins in the classrooms, as well as the curtains in various blue tones.
As compact as the building appears to be from outside, it is surprisingly staggered and reveals an unusual structure indoors. It encourages the children in the kindergarten and primary school to discover and explore the diversely usable interior spaces. In the hollow entrance area, broad stairs lead up to the central hall on a split level, a grandstand-like walkway leading to the two levels. The extra-high steps also provide seating, allowing the space not only to be used for access, but also as a forum: events can take place there, or children can meet there to exchange ideas. The cloakroom for pupils are arranged on the lower level of the forum, while its upper level is situated on an open access-corridor connecting four classrooms. Between the corner-illuminated rooms, there are two smaller group rooms that can be combined to form a fifth classroom if required.
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FEATURED WORK
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SCHOOL BIRRWIL BIRRWIL, SWITZERLAND 2020-2022 Client Municipality of Birrwil Total built area 1’120 sqm. Site area 3’160 sqm. Architecture Brandenberger Kloter Architects Team Oliver Brandenberger / Head of Project Cédric Odermatt / Project Architect Fabian Bader Samuel Borer Alicia Buholzer Imre Csebits Adrian Kloter Veronika Mutalova Landscape Architect Bischoff Landschaftsarchitektur GmbH Construction Management Hauri Baumanagement AG Structural Engineer Haller Ingenieure AG Electrical Engineer Wyder Elektroplanung GmbH Heating / Plumbing / Ventilation Engineer Calorplan GmbH Acoustic / building physics Engineer Buri Bauphysik & Akustik AG Signage Designer Design Consult, Patrick Josua Meier Furniture Design Tale Designstudio GmbH Images © Basile Bornand / www.fotopraxis.click
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