gymnasium+elementary school lichtenegg

task definition
the task for the expansion of the lichtenegg school site is defined by the following initial conditions:
the two primary schools are housed in separate buildings. vs-11, with its entrance at schulstraße 3, was renovated to passive house standard between 2009 and 2011. the classrooms of vs-10, with its entrance at schulstraße 1, are mainly located in the old building and in the connecting section to the gymnasium. the existing gymnasium is to be replaced by a new triple gym. the existing old building, in its current structure, can only be adapted for a modern, future-oriented school suitable for open learning methods with great effort. the existing room sizes do not meet contemporary standards, the vertical circulation with two staircases is poorly designed, accessibility is not provided, and the circulation areas do not fulfill the requirements for additional communication, learning, and play zones. any intervention in the existing structure would require considerable effort. upgrading an old building with such unfavorable conditions to a passive house standard would be uneconomical and inefficient. based on these considerations, we decided to demolish the existing structure to create space for a contemporary, flexible building structure that can also accommodate future developments in education. the decision to locate the entire new vs-10 on a single level above the triple gymnasium offers several advantages:
the triple gym and vs-10, including all additional required spaces, can be arranged very efficiently on the site, leaving approximately 1000 m² of land along the b1 available for potential development, which could help finance the construction of the new school and gymnasium complex. the result is a very compact building, much better suited to the requirements of a passive house than an unfavorable combination of existing, adapted old structures and a new gymnasium complex. both primary schools have short routes to the gyms. the entire vs-10 is located on one level, offering generous opportunities for outdoor play and learning, with most rooms having direct access to green spaces.

entrance, gymnasium, and recreation area
the central element of the school complex is the new entrance foyer, from which both primary schools as well as the gymnasium and recreation areas can be accessed. vs-11 may continue to use its existing entrance. directly connected to the foyer is the new central cloakroom area with separate clean and dirty zones. the recreation and gymnasium areas form a communication zone suitable for exhibitions and various school events and celebrations, where mobile partitions can separate different sections. the dining area overlooks the gymnasium and can extend to outdoor terraces in the warmer months.
from salzburgerstrasse, there is a separate entrance with direct access to the cloakroom area, allowing for a clear separation between the school and sports zones during external gym use.

equipment delivery and replacement can be handled via a wide exterior staircase on the east side, which also serves as an emergency exit for the gymnasium. the cloakroom area, equipped with clean and dirty zones, allows access to all gym halls from each cloakroom. an additional exterior staircase provides a short route for students from the cloakrooms to the outdoor area and also serves as an emergency escape route.

classroom wing
the entire vs-10 is located on one level above the triple gymnasium, giving nearly all rooms direct access to the green roof. the building structure is clearly organized and designed in lightweight construction to allow maximum adaptability for future developments in school architecture. the primary school is organized into two clusters of five classrooms each, with two or three group rooms and a teacher area distributed across three comb-like building sections, which are connected by a structure containing special classrooms and a library area. future expansion with an additional ten classrooms is possible.

structural system
the design proposes a space-efficient arrangement of classrooms and group rooms above the triple gymnasium in a comb-like configuration. two of the single-story, double-loaded combs are located directly above the gym and are separated by an intensively planted green area. the roof structure is designed as a cross-laminated timber slab, considering weight, building physics, and ecological aspects. the balanced load distribution between classrooms and intermediate zones allows for intensive landscaping. the superstructure’s load-bearing system combines full-story steel trusses on the first floor with approximately 1.0 m deep pre-stressed beams above the gymnasium ceiling, creating an economical and efficient structural system that integrates materiality and construction depth. the full-story steel trusses along the inner façades of the superstructure – with a grid spacing of 7.55 m, load width of 13.50 m, and span of 27.50 m – form, together with the columns at the ends of the gymnasium, the supporting structure for the longitudinally oriented reinforced concrete beams of the gym ceiling – grid spacing/load width 6.80 m, span 18.85 + 7.55 + 18.85 m. these beams can be designed as continuous pre-stressed girders activated in a single tensioning process. the favorable span conditions allow for economical beam dimensions; the separation of the longitudinal and transverse load-bearing systems (below and above the ceiling) enables simple routing of building services below the gymnasium ceiling. the structure is stabilized by reinforced concrete shear walls at the transverse ends of the gymnasium and by steel trusses along the longitudinal façades.