Guessing School Campus

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Light – Air – Sun … and … Güssing Castle provide the initial parameters, as it were, for the development of the VS+ASO+ZMS (elementary school + general special school + bilingual middle school) campus at the centre of the extensive complex of school buildings and sports facilities along Schulstraße.

Year

2021

Venue

Güssing

State

Completed

Category

Education

Size

4.309 m²

Year

Venue

State

Category

Size

2021

Güssing

Completed

Education

4.309 m²

Year

2021

Venue

Güssing

State

Completed

Category

Education

Size

4.309 m²

In urban planning and architectural terms, the “sporty” shape of the site calls for a rationally organised building in order to provide the spaces called for in the schedule of accommodation as well as the qualities expected. First of all, sufficient open space was to be left to provide areas where the pupils can move around freely. In response to the narrow shape of the site the building was conceived as an elongated, stepped three-storey volume.
This generates several advantages:
• An appropriate distance to the NMS is achieved
• Along the entire length of the site sunny, south-facing outdoor spaces are created – in the form of “front gardens” to the individual ASO classrooms or the schoolyard.

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• By stepping the functional levels generously sized terraces are created in front of the main teaching spaces. These can be used during school breaks, but also for giving lessons outdoors. This applies to all three levels of the building.
• Through the generously dimensioned openings along the entire south facade the building is clearly oriented towards the centre of the town, with the castle as a reference point.
• The main teaching spaces face south towards the quiet road that leads to the tennis courts and not towards the rather “loud” and busy Schulstraße
• All the main teaching spaces have the same kind of lighting conditions, consequently a sunny east side versus a dark west side for morning lessons is avoided.

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LIGHT – AIR – SUN – the CASTLE … and greenery in front of the windows … a new identity for Güssing VS+ASO+ZMS school campus!

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Along with its forecourt the narrow end of the building facing Schulstraße defines a clear access situation: here there are waiting zones protected from inclement weather, where bikes can be parked. This area can also be seen as a threshold to the carparking areas.
The architectural design of this end of the building produces a clear address for the building and makes an inviting gesture with its projecting canopy roof.

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The open space related to the school represents a carefully articulated and organised area, which can integrate and organise all relevant functions. On the axis of the main entrance an elongated space is made that establishes a clear visual relationship for those arriving and, with its benches, forms a front area, a space to wait in and where people can be collected. The carpark, separated by a long bench seat, is nearby. The parking spaces are paved with grass pavers and all of them have a generous width of three metres, allowing a flexible distribution of the newly planted trees and the car parking spaces for disabled persons. To achieve a balance between the entrance area and the carpark it is proposed that the southernmost row of parking spaces should be accessed from the nearby southern road. An adequate number of bike stands are placed under a roof, close to the entrance.

The schoolyard takes up the clear idiom used in the entrance area. In front of the special school there are outdoor areas, separated by luxuriant planting, allocated to each of the classrooms. A separate entrance for this school type opens towards the south, ensuring safe arrivals. The school yard for the primary school extends through three storeys. On the ground floor the design approach used in the special school is continued. A staircase, flanked by planting on the façade of the building that also provides a visual screen for the special school, leads to the first floor. Planters with ornamental grasses divide up the terrace and continue the green design theme. On the second floor there is, additionally, a larger planting bed that provides a garden area that can be used for instructional purposes.

Despite the longitudinal organization of the building, a good zoning of the areas has been created: the individual units are clearly comprehensible and function to a certain extent autonomously, yet still form a compact structure.

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The second floor is used exclusively by two class clusters of equal value with the learning and open space zones. Here too, generous terrace areas - partly covered by a pergola - are planned.

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This Aula is an open space for life and action, conceived for the programs that accompany the teaching: these include day care facilities as well as various events.

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The leisure spaces are directly integrated in the Aula area – although they can be separated –together with the seating steps they form a generously dimensioned zone for a wide variety of activities. The library, an important part of the overall educational concept, is also integrated here and stimulates a playful approach to reading. The seating steps can also be used as an auditorium for the nearby ZMS or, conversely, as a stage for performances.
From the seating steps a generous open staircase develops through all the levels of the building. Naturally, a lift to provide barrier-free access is included. To ensure the necessary escape routes there are additional staircases – a closed staircase hall and several outdoor stairs.

Essentially, the building was developed according to the specifications of the R+F program and therefore has a well-functioning autonomy.
- The extension of the canopy roof to the entrance area to the NMS
- At the western end of the building a covered approach to the sports rooms of the NMS and to the activity park
- A bridge building on the upper floors, directly beside the gymnasium, which spans the access road.

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Architecture

Pichler & Traupmann Architects

Design team

Bartosz Lewandowski (team leader)
Leonie Eitzenberger
Elisa Mazagg
Emir Veyseloglu

Project team

Adnan Balic (project leader)
Patrik Drechsler
Klemens Gabriel
David Guisado T.
Florian Huber
Barbara Jarmaczki
Joachim Kess
Jure Kozmus
Moritz Kühn
Wolfgang Windt
Arkady Zavialov

Client

Guessing Municipality

Landscape architecture

Lindle+Bukor – studio for landscape, Vienna

Structural design | MEP Engineering

Woschitz Engineering ZT GmbH, Oberwart

Building physics

RWT plus ZT GmbH, Vienna

Site supervision

Ingenieurbüro Puffing, Graz

Site supervision electrical planning

TB Ing. Michael Urschler GmbH, Riedlingsdorf

Hard facts

Start of planning: 2021
Start of construction: 2022
Completion: 2024
Usable floor area: 2.847 m²
Gross floor area: 4.537 m²
Function: School campus
Scope: Designer with responsibility for all design services

Photos

Paul Ott, Graz

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