An influx and increasing birth rate in the community situated to the
south of Vienna called for the creation of more, particularly state-of-the-art
child care facilities. Therefore a competition tender submission for a new
child care centre was issued in 2008. The existing 19th century ‘Gründerzeit’
school was to be extended by eight primary school classes, a after-school care
club and a kindergarten with kitchen.
The association of architects MAGK illiz won the competition and was
awarded the tender. The draft of the project team MAGK illiz breaks up the
construction into L-shaped bodies which are interlaced in such a manner that
different places and free spaces to play in and for learning are formed in the
interstices.
Good orientation and quick ways for children and adults are provided by
a simple routing system between the functional areas of the two-floor
ensemble. The new main entrance to the school is also the assembly hall
and connects the existing school building with the new building. The façade is
developed as a ‘pixeled’ white envelope. Format and joining patterns of the
“window pixels” meet the current utilisation needs whereby the rooms at the
back can be interpreted from outside and the recall value of the individual
building sections is enhanced. The façade surfaces alternate between smooth and
rough plaster which, particularly in grazing light, creates a vivid impression.
Unlike the high-contrast façade, the design of the interior rooms is
characterised by varying, finely tuned colour and material
combinations. The differing design of doors, cloakrooms and wall panels in
an individual range of colour for each area of activity facilitates finding the
way and increases their identification, particularly for the children. The
cloakrooms of the children’s groups are covered in wood and meander like snails
shells into private niches.
“Pixels” protrude into the
corridors and from the façade; they are used by the children as nests to read
and to cuddle up in. All activity areas have green and free surfaces. The
playground used for breaks turns into a climbing and adventure scenery by its
dazzling orange rubber surface, the roof terrace with the smoothly concreted
surface becomes a race course. Crèche and kindergarten form a common one to two
floor patio which forms a settled pacified centre surrounded by play corridors,
multi-purpose and action rooms. The colourful door and ventilation elements of
the room-high glass façade allow a for an event room to emerge which can be used
flexibly. There is a two-floor loggia of a white-coated welded grid and
coloured glass pain curtain to the west of the group rooms on the left, in
front of the kindergarten. It complements the monolithic character of the
building and is both a sunshade and fall-protection. Depending on the viewing
angle, the façade appears anything from transparent to closed, from the
interior, however, it embodies a protective second envelop, allowing the
smallest children a glance into the greenery and conjures colourful spots of
light in the room.
The material and construction concept is characterised by the high
standards imposed on ecological sustainability. To ensure the building period
was speedy, the new construction was setup in a composite construction method
with a solid core as storage mass and a prefabricated, high-insulation envelope
of timber frame construction, of solid wood panel structure respectively.
The entire new building complies with passive house standards, the aim
of which is greatest ease and comfort for the user at lowest possible operating
costs.. With an innovative ventilation concept it is possible to achieve a
minimisation of costs with regard to the operating times of the mechanical
ventilation. For this purpose the classrooms and group rooms are aired by
transverse ventilation via acoustic slot openings across the corridor zones
without noise from the corridor being transported into the classrooms. This
concept also technically ensures that overheating in summer is prevented
temperatures dropping at night. Thanks to efficient cost control the overall
budget could also be used to redevelop and renovate the existing gym in the
scope of this extension. Furthermore, the circulating strip lights could be
renewed and provided with circumferential horizontal, partially movable sun
protection louvers.
concept
The childcare centre of MAGK illiz is characterised particularly
sensitively by the traditional, small dimension structure of the surroundings.
The broken building volume is so interlaced that it by no means competes with
the environment.
first floor plan
Together with the existing classrooms, the new primary school, the crèche and the kindergarten form one of the largest childcare centres in Lower Austria after a mere period of three years needed for planning and building.
