Wolfert is a school for secundary theoretical and vocational educatio on where personal attention and coaching are paramount. To guarantee the high level of education with the growing number of students, Wolfert developed a new building by design of cepezed and cepezed projects.
The school is located in an area in development which will be characterized by stark building volumes loosely but coherently embedded in a landscaped strip. At the southern end of this strip, viewing the town hall, the new school building is placed prominently on a slightly elevated lot.
An existing watercourse along the provincial road will be extended on the northeast side of the school, which will further enhance the autonomous character. The other sides of the building are bordered by green strips and a spacious schoolyard.
In the fully transparent high plinth a number of practice and skills rooms are a showcase for Wolfert’s culture and dynamics. The two upper floors exist alternately of band-windows and Corten-steel. The deep brown-orange-red rust color and the powdery surface of this material correspond to the city’s image quality plans, seek connection with the future adjacent buildings and fit in with the tough industrial character desired for the interior.
For the construction, an innovative concrete building system is used that guarantees precise and efficient assembly with prefabricated columns and floor slabs. Partly due to this constructive structure as well as the sophisticated building layout and routing, future extensions are easily executable.
Within the compact building volume, spatial quality is ensured by, among other things, ample daylight, long sight lines and a central atrium. The latter embodies Wolfert's dynamic heart and has a large grandstand-like staircase with seatings.
The floor plans have an evident organisational structure in several layers. Consecutively from the inside towards the outside: the lively atrium, the traffic route, the shared functions like the Practice plazas and facility services and lastly the classrooms along the facades. This layout achieves a natural flow of a dynamic building heart to peace and quiet in the classrooms. In keeping with the type of education, the interior has a robust, functional and industrial atmosphere and aesthetics using concrete for the construction and wood for, among other elements, the large staircase.
Material Used :
1. Facade cladding: Corten steel
2. Flooring: CD 20 concrete slabs, soil cement screed, finishing: Forbo marmoleum, Bolidt cast flooring
3. Doors: Janisol (ODS), RT-72 reflex (Kawneer)
4. Windows: RT-72 (Kawneer)
5. Roofing: bitumen
6. Interior lighting: DTI 2 &Pleiad Evo (Fagerhult), Waco Tuba (Arlight), Mirage surface (Whitecroft)
