Sports Middle School
Gruber Locher Architects – Satteins, Austria
The Sports Middle School Satteins, built in the 1970s, needed to be structurally renovated, and the premises adapted to the requirements of current pedagogy standards.
The building, consisting of three interconnected structures, is logically further developed by an addition located at the center of the complex. A ring-shaped extension is created around a new inner courtyard, accommodating all new functions.
Significant interventions in the existing four-story classroom wing with its limited structural capacity are thus avoided. The new center includes the main entrance, the central cloakroom, the teacher area, and the special classes. From here, students and visitors enter the building, can easily orient themselves, and disperse throughout the building.
The proportions and height gradations of the existing structures are preserved and enhanced by the extension. The facade of the existing structures, which was renovated in the 1990s, remains unchanged. The new facade of the extension is designed to be uniform and distinctive, thereby integrating and enhancing the entire complex.
The spacious, central circulation areas with the stairwell open across all floors in the classroom wing are preserved in their extent. Existing solid partition walls between the classrooms and the circulation zone are removed and replaced with large glass surfaces. This creates a spatial continuum throughout the entire floors, allowing for various uses and teaching methods to find their place.
