Passive building - Niels Stensen Grammar School

Roloff • Ruffing

Redevelopment of the Niels Stensen grammar school
Hastedtstraße, Hamburg-Harburg

Competition 2008 - 1st Prize
Completion date 2011
Gross area  1.BA   4.140 sq. metres
                  2.BA   7.750 sq. metres

The urban development gap at Lücke Haeckelstraße / Goeschenstraße will be filled in by a striking, angular school building. The existing buildings of the former fire brigade will be unified both in form and in function in an ensemble of old and new building, the vernacular and the modern. A representative and inviting access point comes into being, orientated towards the southward-running green corridor. The school buildings are grouped so as to surround the playground protectively, turning it into the communicative centre of the site. This opens up to the south and west, so providing sunshine and good light all day long. Pitches for street- and basket-ball are situated on the roof of the double-sized sports hall, which is two-thirds under ground level, and negotiable from the playground via a unit of steps and banked seating. A single-storey row of buildings closes the playground off while providing a barrier against noise for the neighbouring built-up area.
The  new Niels Stensen Gammar School attains significant location in Harburg and, with it, a confident presence in the suburb.
The spatial concept of the building follows the pedagogic approaches of the day school reflected, among other things, in a broad palette of co-operative and individual forms of learning. Group-work areas in the classrooms stand on equal footing with learning studios that include places for individual study, computer terminals and quiet zones.
The energy concept involved accords with the passive building standard. The buildings are of compact construction, heavily insulated and fitted with treble glazing, thereby reducing heat-loss to a minimum. Fresh air is brought in under control as required via an air-intake system with efficient heat-recycling, which makes constant high-quality air possible without draught.
The building is certified as a passive-house system in compliance with the Hamburg Building Society Credit Bank. This process is accompanied by the Syndicate for Contemporary Construction Projects in Schleswig Holsten. For current projects this entails, among other things, regular extreme testing of insulation and sealing operations and technical systems in buildings such as ground-heat collectors, concrete core cooling and heat recycling pumps.