NIKOLAUS-VON-MYRA-SCHOOL, PHILIPPSBURG

1. Client:
City of Philippsburg

2. Project data
Scope of work : Stage of performance 1-9
Buildingcosts : 3,5 million EUR
Period of time : 1983-1985
Representative : Mayor Jürgen Schmidt
Tel. +49 (0)7256/87100

3. Description of work
„School for educationally subnormal children in Philippsburg“ „You get to the powed red-grey schoolyard along a flat sloped ramp, passed the parking place, the small playground, and the bicycle and table tennis yard.Here you already realise the diagonal axis continuing in the building and you can experience it in the tiling of the floor in the entrance hall. In the centre of the schoolyard is a striking round tower, artistically tiled, on which a light iron construction is supended, bearing the glass roofing of the schoolyard. At the same time, the tower also has the function of an supply-air induction structure for the shelters in the basement. The main entrance of the building, flanked by a laurel at the right and left side, runs into a two story entrance hall. Here you can easily orientate yourself in the clearly structured building. The fundamental classes are located in the north western part of the structure, the special classes and the administration are in the south eastern part. Straight ahead, on the diagonal axis of the building, you go into the staircase, rotated 45o , so that the axis leads exactly through the corner pillar between two vertical window hinges. On both sides, seperated by terrariums from the staircase, there are all adjoning rooms. The fundamental classes are accessible through a square room, connected to the main entrance hall by a short corridor. The classrooms are arranged in pairwise with group rooms between them. These mini classrooms can be used alternately by the two flancing classes. This is possible because of the movable blinds between the glass panels of the glass- wood- partition walls. The big iron balconies with massive wooden covering in front of the group rooms are suitable for open-air lessons. The entrance room, already mentioned, is exposed and ventilated naturally through the rooflight dome over the bird aviary. The aviary is a cylindrical structure partly glazed and partly barred, located on an artistic tiled socket in the ground floor. Formation of the special classes and the administration in the southeastern part of the structure is similarly membered to the class rooms. Here you also get into the structure through a stretched corridor with a round view between ground floor and upper floor. The two workrooms located on the ground floor with the intermediary material and machinery roomseach have one exit to a round terrace. Here you can also find the needlework room, the multipurpose room, and the sorjourn room. The latter can completely be opened towards the entrance hall by means of movable seperation walls and generates with it the educational centre of the school. There are varied possibilities for different events. Here the caretaker room is located, containing the distributing centre. There you have a good survey through a beat sliding window. The building is a masonry structure with massive ceilings of reinforced concrete. The sloped roof over the entrance hall is supported by a steel trussed girder and is constructed over steel binding rafters in wooden structure. The roof covering by a coloured light metal coating is a roof of standing seam?. All interior walls are made of brickwork. The roofing is a standing seam roof consisting of colourful coated light metal . All interior walls are made of brick walling. The facade built with 36,5 cm thick vertically performed bricks. All interior an exterior walls are rendred with mineral plaster.The horizontal roofage is a externally insulated roof construction with gravel pouring. The predominantly quadratic window elements consist of an aluminium-wood combination, purple-violet coated from the outside. The grounds of the fundamental classes and the administration have an aubergine coloured needle felt wall-to-wall carpeting, the rooms of the special classes are covered with a nap rubber flooring. The strongly frequented entrance hall and the corridors are flowed, continued at the footings in grey, pink and purple-violet tiles in dynamic patterns. The interior tills have also the colour purple-violet.“ db 11/86