Finding your way around a new school can sometimes be daunting. Especially when together with almost 3.800 other pupils. The brand-new Porteum education campus in Lelystad, the Netherlands has found a creative solution for this problem. The six sub-schools that make up the campus have embellished their own distinctive colour with Rockpanel Colours facade cladding.

The brand-new Porteum education campus in Lelystad is a bold project, says Rinske Wikkerink of Kraaijvanger Architects. "Lelystad is merging three secondary schools into one campus. That means bringing almost 3.800 pupils together in the same location every day."

Used product:
Rockpanel Colours: RAL 3001, RAL 1032, RAL 7016, RAL 9005, RAL 070 60 75, NCS S 1080-Y 50 R, NCS S 3040-B 209 & NCS S 2070-G 30 Y

Large-scale building with small-scale structure

The central task for the design? Organising small scale. Wikkerink: "That's why we chose to divide Porteum into seven buildings; six sub-schools and one central culture building. Each building is home to a group of students based on their school year and receive most of their education there. Some subjects are taught at other locations.”

The buildings are connected by a deck on the first floor that gives access to the upper floors. The classrooms are raised one floor above ground level. This creates space on the ground floor for stowing bicycles. Wikkerink: "With almost 3,800 pupils, there are almost as many bicycles that have to be stored every day. Of course, you don't want them all in your field of vision."

Distinctive facades with Rockpanel Colours facade cladding

The facades of the six school buildings contribute to recognisability. "Whereas the shape of the buildings is quite diverse, we have kept the appearance largely transparent and sober. The six school buildings have facades with a lot of glass in anthracite profiles, alternating with gold- and copper-coloured aluminium panels. Under the window frames, each building has a strip of Rockpanel Colours in RAL 7016."A particular exception to these calm facades are the facades of the bicycle sheds and entrances, says Wikkerink. "To increase the recognisability of each building, we gave each its own characteristic colour palette."

Wide range of available colours

“The choice of Rockpanel Colours was quickly made, thanks to the wide range of colours available," explains Wikkerink. "Each of the bicycle sheds has a fresh, striking colour all around, with the whole range of the rainbow passing by. From blue to green, yellow and ochre, to orange and red. We extended these colours from the bicycle sheds to the entrances on the first floor. And they recur in a diluted way in the furnishings. In this way, although we have six sub-schools that have a similar basic layout, wherever you are, a clear distinction is visible thanks to the different colours used to help with orientation."

Versatile facade panels

Construction company Hegeman built the campus, with help from VM Geveltechniek for fitting the Rockpanel facade cladding. Jeroen van der Loos, project manager at VM Geveltechniek enjoys working with Rockpanel in his projects because of the product's versatility. "We use the material not only as facade cladding, but also around the roof for overhangs, fascia boards, eaves, and in other detailing on ceilings or entrances. You can go in all directions with it."

"When mounting the panels, one of the things we had to take into account was the wind load," says Arjan Ekkel, foreman at Hegeman. "The buildings are quite tall. About a third of the Rockpanel facade panels were installed above nine metres. Here, a separate rear construction was first installed, which was well coordinated with Rockpanel. The panels were then nailed together. Here Rockpanel assisted us with advice on fixing materials and installation."

Easy to work with

"We have been working with Rockpanel for a long time and have used their cladding on numerous projects," says Van der Loos. "It is a facade panel that is easy to work with. On this project, we had everything cut to size at the factory, but the few times we needed to adjust something on site, it was child’s play since no special tools were required. This was ideal for this project, as the assembly was challenging due to all the curves and the finishing placement of the facade panels. Then it makes all the difference when you can easily make small adjustments on site. The beauty of Rockpanel Colours is that the boards are not directional: you can use the entire board in any direction without noticing it on the facade. Especially when making coves and connections, such a universally rotatable board is easy to work with."

Over 5,400 square metres of Rockpanel facade cladding were eventually fitted for the entire project. The result? "A brilliant learning environment," explains Wikkerink, "where the different buildings with their own colour accents help to ensure that there is enough room for small-scale education within this large-scale project." Van der Loos adds: "We are all incredibly proud to have been able to contribute to this project, and to a sustainable, healthy learning environment for so many young people."