In the historic fisherman’s town of Lemmer in the Dutch province of Friesland, the new LennaMare School has opened its doors to students. Designed by architects, landscape architects, and interior designers from international architecture and design studio BDP as a welcoming “house in the polder”, the building sets a benchmark for future-focused, climate-resilient secondary education. Rooted in its setting, the school has been conceived as a genuinely green, sustainable environment.
Serving the Zuyderzee Lyceum, part of the VariO Onderwijsgroep education group, the 3,100-square-metre building accommodates around 350 students across VMBO, HAVO, and VWO, the three main pathways in Dutch secondary education. Its distinctive, sharply defined silhouette of pitched roofs references the black wooden barns of the Frisian landscape, expressed through a bio-based facade of Japanese burnt wood (shou sugi ban) paired with preserved pinewood cladding.
A flexible learning environment
The school responds to wide variations in group size, age, and educational need by supporting an adaptable mix of classical instruction, project-based learning, collaboration, self-study, and individual coaching. The building is organised around two central spaces: a lively social heart and a quieter double-height study heart.
The social heart, located on the north side, acts as the school’s communal hub for lunch breaks, assemblies, events, and celebrations. A large grandstand overlooks the sports fields, encouraging students to spend time outdoors. The space is also used by the local community after hours, including the Lemster Mannenkoor, a men’s choir that rehearsed in the old school for sixty years.
Back-to-back with the social heart sits the study heart, where classrooms overlook open workspaces and teachers move between rooms and shared areas, blending direct instruction with group and individual learning. Part of the school was designed to support refugee education, offering smaller classrooms and more sheltered breakout spaces. As a result, the building fulfils an important role in the small community, providing an inclusive learning environment for all levels and group sizes.
Learning in the landscape
The green schoolyard and surrounding polder landscape are integral to the educational approach. There is an allotment garden for cooking classes, a dedicated area for science experiments, and an outdoor art atelier. On the first floor, a balcony provides an exterior teaching space for speech training in language subjects.
The schoolyard is designed as a climate-adaptive environment: it is largely unpaved to promote local rainwater infiltration and an enlarged polder moat adds extra water retention capacity.
Together, these features deepen the connection between learning and landscape, and between the school and its broader community.
Structure and materiality
The building is designed as a compact, efficient volume with a lightweight structure that intentionally reduces thermal mass. It consists of steel columns and integrated beams supporting precast hollow-core slabs. The pitched roof is constructed using a ribbed timber structure wrapped in timber panelling, with perforated panels lining the interior. Acoustic material within the beam cavities ensures excellent sound quality in the double-height breakout spaces.
Timber-frame facades clad with pinewood slats provide a sustainable alternative to metal framing and cladding. This approach aligns with the wider sustainability strategy that guided every design decision, reinforcing the school as both a place of learning and a living lesson in environmental responsibility.
Sustainability at the core
The roof structure, made of timber, is paired with photovoltaic panels on the south-facing elevations. A low-tech ventilation system preheats and cools incoming air by drawing on the natural warmth of the schoolyard soil. Combined with generous natural daylight from the north-facing shed roofs, these measures achieve energy performance at least thirty percent better than Dutch building regulations require. The design also anticipates future improvements with a long-term aim of reaching energy-neutral operations, circularity, and durability.
Students and staff experience these qualities directly. As Sander Boersma, Principal of LennaMare, observes: “The daylight flowing along the timber shed roofs into the heart of the school is stunning. The acoustics throughout the entire school are great and the warm, natural materials contribute to a pleasant atmosphere. Students say they feel more calm and can focus better on their tasks in their new school. That is a huge compliment to the design team that made this building come to life.”
A reflection on the completed school
Bjorn Bleumink, Architect Director at BDP, said: “With the completion of LennaMare, we have delivered a school that is both inclusive and exemplary. Its parametric facades, sustainable and responsible materiality, and social learning environments demonstrate how design can actively contribute to climate resilience. This building is tailored to its location and the community it serves. It is a place for students to thrive, for teachers to innovate, and for the community to see the role architecture plays in shaping a sustainable future. But above all, it is a place where you feel welcome and at home. Because of that, regardless of age, gender, or cultural background, you can step out of your comfort zone and dare to learn, explore, and discover your talents.”
