SCHOOL IN LURUP
NEW HEART OF THE DISTRICT
TThe aim of the competition for a school for 900 pupils in Lurup, one of Hamburg’s districts, was designing a stimulating and comfortable education venue for students, faculty and the surrounding community alike. Given the vast cultural programme proposed such as a community center, library, small theater, auditorium and sports hall, the project is set to become the focal point of the entire district, despite it’s central but hidden location in the “second row” – striving to create a neighbourhood magnet luring residents all day long. The school will have two entrances; the first in direct contact with the existing building and the second leading to the only road from which the building can be directly visible in the urban structure. On the south side, the school opens onto a school yard and vast green space, anchoring itself with three functional arms stretching down to the nature. Both entrances provide direct access to the central foyer, from here visitors can have an insight, easily reach all public functions on the ground floor and move smoothly to the 24-hour public library via the central amphitheater-like staircase. In order to avoid decentralisation of the building and strengthen the ground floor's meeting function, the two top floors that are solely dedicated to classrooms are accessible only by a staircase in the atrium of the lobby. The clear division between public podium and school is also externally visible through the materiality; with the base façade constructed from glass and wood juxtaposed against the upper floors that are made of white fiberglass composite panels. The open ground floor facade creates a dialogue of communication between the public functions inside and the nature outside, while the upper floors, occupying the school, react to the aesthetics of the neighbouring houses.
Project: High school
Size: 12,890 m²
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Client: Hamburg City Council
Team: Urban Agency, Transform Architekts, Rambøll, NO, LivingCities, Ulrik Hindsberger
Type: Invited competition
Status: Settled
