high temporality
extension of "Toermalijn" elementary school
The ambition behind this project is based on the ideas we began to explore in the Parasite Project from the late 1990s onwards: temporary architecture and temporarily available sites deserve attention, high-quality architecture and healthy materials - particularly when we deal with educational buildings for children.
With the school Parasites project (Hoogvliet 2003, www.schoolparasites.nl) we looked into alternatives to conventional, temporary school extensions, which are unfortunately very common in the Netherlands. As a result three prototypes for high-quality, singular, temporary classroom units were designed by three different architects and given to primary schools in Hoogvliet to test.
| location: | Hijkerveld, Zuidwijk, Rotterdam |
| design: | 2006 |
| realisation: | 2007 |
| client: | Dienst Jeugd Onderwijs en Samenleving, Gemeente Rotterdam |
| structural engineer: | Pieters Bouwtechniek, Utrecht |
| contractor: | Van der Hoek en Van den Donker Bouwbedrijf BV |
| photography: | Stefan Müller, Moritz Bernoully |
Unfortunately, standard provisional rooms are still being used frequently. They are useful for short-term use. However, such provisional solutions often last for many years, sometimes even longer than a child's stay in elementary school.
In front of the classrooms there is a terrace under the generous cantilevering roof, which enables the glazed doors to be left open in all weathers.
site plan
With the project for the extension of the primary school De Toermalijn in Rotterdam, we added a prototypical design for temporary classrooms with flexible use to the series. Based on the low budgets conventionally available for semi-permanent school buildings, this is the first built example of its kind. It is a simple, one-storey building containing four classrooms, space for storage, toilets and a meeting room for teachers.
The prefabricated structure consists of timber frame walls, heavy and long laminated timber beams and timber hollow-core panels with acoustic perforations.
The large sliding doors between corridor and classroom allow the corridor space to be used occasionally as part of the classrooms. In the future, the walls between the classrooms can be replaced by sliding panels. This structural flexibility allows for a range of uses that go beyond typical teaching in pre-defined groups.
1 classroom
2 entrance
3 bathroom
4 storage
On the outside we also worked with limited resources: the graphic pattern of the façade plating creates a fresh and confident appearance!
The skin of the cubic volume, consisting of timber planks and coloured cement panels, relates to the post-war context of the surroundings while confidently expressing a contemporary identity of its own.
