Description

The Mira Lobe School in Dortmund-Hombruch is one of many such schools in the city. The building typology was developed as part of a pilot project that began in 1962 and aimed, through semi-industrialised construction, to respond to both growing demand and a shortage of labour at the time.

The construction system used in Dortmund was also ‘exported’ to Hamburg and Berlin where further examples of this school type can be found. Built as a panel construction, the floor plan employs the “Schuster typology” with pairs of classrooms accessed directly from the staircase landings without corridors. Built in H-shaped floor plans or with an atrium in the centre, they were clustered in various sizes and adapted to the building site. The Mira Lobe School is an atrium type in which two north-south oriented wings are connected by two perpendicular bars that enclose an inner courtyard between them. Due to the sloping site, the two wings are staggered resulting in a split-level configuration with a total of six levels across the two three-storey buildings.

The architects’ solution for the school conversion and modernisation respects the existing structure and at the same time completely changes how the school is experienced. In addition, the thermal insulation and energy efficiency of the building has been improved.

The conversion and refurbishment of the school, which cost 3.5 million euros, came about after the former secondary school had been taken over by a special needs school. At present, around 90 children aged 6 to 16 study there, in classes of 9 to 13 children each. The existing structure of the school was, however, not suitable for the special needs of some of the pupils. The many different levels represented a barrier which was resolved through the insertion of two lifts. A more complex problem was how to simplify orientation within the building, as it lacked a centre. The inner courtyard was empty forcing all movement to go around it. The architects’ conversion concept began by roofing over the courtyard to create a central hall for the building. New galleries along the two flanking classroom wings overlook the hall. Their different colours and different floor tones indicate in which part and level of the building one is, and therefore help provide a sense of orientation. The care and nursing rooms for children – including toilets but also changing and washing rooms – were arranged above one another on the north side of the central hall, with a further room on the uppermost floor of the south wing. This simple strategy significantly reduced the surface area of external walls, making it possible to achieve energy-efficiency ratings comparable to that of a new building for the remaining façades.

As a result, the outward appearance of the building could be largely preserved. The new interventions nevertheless introduce their own design language that contrasts with the predominantly industrially-manufactured surfaces and coatings of the interior, adding a man-made quality to the insertions: in-situ concrete that can withstand the impact of wheelchairs; acoustic bricks that enclose the care and washrooms on each level, used vertically to allow them to adapt to the curved radii of the walls and to visually unite the levels; and solid oak enclosing the tiered seating to make them look like a single piece of furniture.

The technical and structural construction of the building has been altered more significantly than is at first apparent. To begin with, supply ducts beneath the atrium obstructed the new building and had to be bridged by the in-situ concrete foundation. A column on the ground floor of the south wing that lay directly in the sight line of the tiered seating in the new hall was removed and the southern part of the building suspended from the new building. For events in the hall, the adjacent cafeteria can be transformed into a stage as required. The new centre of school life is also hired out to local associations outside of school hours as a way of integrating the school in the local community.

Originally published in Bauwelt 05.2015, pp. 30-33, abridged and edited for Building Types online, translated by Julian Reisenberger

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