Leonhard schoolhouse

At the periphery of the inner city between Steinengraben and Kohlenberg, some 2000 young people attend school in a very tight space. The new Leonhard schoolhouse is part of this schoolhouse neighborhood above the bustling Barfüsserplatz square. The place is marked by its restricted space, its wide variety of outdoor spaces and the prominent school buildings, which reflect a hundred years of committed schoolhouse building.

Two central staircases provide access between the building levels. The top floors accommodate the natural science rooms, the general classrooms and the domestic science rooms. The single-depth organization of the top floors and the building form create naturally lit corridors areas offering varied, fascinating views. Not only are views offered onto the schoolyards and Leonhardsstrasse, but it also becomes possible to read the building’s own facade from inside.

The windows of natural wood, the prefabricated concrete supports spaced 2.75 meters apart and the green flooring matched to the red of the facade characterize the classrooms and create the appropriate atmosphere needed for learning.

From the massive concrete stairwells, you access the underground levels and reach the gymnasiums. Access to the locker rooms and gymnasiums is through long, narrow and frugal corridors, which contrast with the gymnasiums lit by daylight.

The roof of the triple gymnasium at the same time serves as a daylight source for the underground gymnasium and as a playground for the break area. The pragmatic, direct and systematic simplicity and clarity in room definition and design, combined with the color and material concept, reflect the prevailing zeitgeist among young people and also to some extent mirror practical economic constraints. An ageless schoolhouse which will outlast even coming educational and other trends.