Results of the First Work Phase

George Steinmann: After all my research from the attic, through the classrooms and the yard, to the annexe building, I have come to conclude: The school basically has a good energy, which stems from its history and its site. However there is a great need for action in relation to the architectural and spatial situation. The energy flow needs to be reactivated.
In order to cope with societal demands the conditions for the teaching staff and thus for the children urgently need to be improved. More working space is needed, but also zones where the teachers can relax and gather new strength.

I therefore propose two interventions which address the interconnection of space, aesthetics and education.

Intervention 1 is the renovation and partial conversion of the director and teaching staff’s corridor in the main building. This includes a “room of silence” for the teaching staff as well as a multifunctional room to be used as a teachers’ workshop on the one hand and as a “Forum for Education for Sustainable Development” on the other. The new interior design creates a creative learning environment.

Intervention 2 concerns the annexe building. The small, single storey extension seems to be quite inadequate in view the school’s needs. Here I propose to construct a two storey extension. This would provide the school with two new 85 square metre rooms. The attic level should be constructed in a way that it can be used by the teaching staff or as a storage room. The ground floor is designe as a multifunctional space, namely as an alternative location for the “Forum for Education for Sustainable Development”. The multifunctional aspect opens the school to other schools in Lüneburg, but also far beyond.

Results of the first work phase.
On February 26th 2010 presented the results of his work in the school: Proposals for two sculptural interventions.

 
Sculptural Intervention 1

Renovation of the director and teaching staff’s corridor
•  Renovation of the entrance and stairs on the Heiligengeiststrasse side, removal of the wall tiles.

•  Renovation of the corridor (floor, walls, cupboards, light),
Solid wooden flooring preferably in the whole corridor, but at least from the Heiligengeistsstrass entrance. Removal of the wall tiles.

•  Renovation of the staff room, heart of the school,
floor covering, walls, radiators, windows, furniture.

•  Renovation of the staff toilets,
floor, walls, ceilings, light, sanitary fixtures and fittings.

•  Renovation and redesign of  classrooms 2.15 / 2.16,
(floors, wall, ceilings, windows, light, ventilation). New use as “room of silence” (space for contemplation) for the teaching staff.
Possibly with a poetry library.

•  Renovation of classroom 2.17, nucleus for sustainable education,
floor, walls, ceiling, windows, light, sun shades, ventilation, furniture.
New use as teaching workshop and as the “Forum for Education for Sustainable Development” including pertaining library.


Revitalisation of the Spaces

During the renovation process the staff room, the "room of silence", the teaching workshop (“Forum for Education for Sustainable Development”) as well as the corridor and toilets will be potentiated by herbal “mother tinctures” and thereby made to vibrate, respectively “informed”. The construction materials serve as information carriers.

The renovated rooms are simultaneously space and resonating bodies. The resonance that makes the space vibrate has pharmacological potential.

Sculptural Intervention 2

Extension of the Annexe Building
•  Construction of  two new 85 square metre rooms (ground floor and first floor) including toilets and cloakroom.
One room for multifunctional use: classroom, music room, conference room.

•  Use of the attic space as an additional room for the teaching staff.

•  The multifunctional room can be used as a location for the „Forum for Education for Sustainable Development“.

•  Constructing for a 2000 Watt society

The extension building is an ndicator forsustainable building techniques. This embraces more than energy efficient construction – the building presents the state of the art of sustainable building standards. In practical terms this means:

•  Exemplary in energy and ecological terms.
Low energy standard. Energy efficiency and use of locally produced energy.

•  Use of ecologically produced and recyclable construction materials without harmful substances. This creates a room atmosphere which is exemplary for the demands and needs of a sustainable school.

In respect of the fact that the school is a listed building, Lüneburg’s architectural tradition will be taken up, but also transformed: the bigger windows allow for better light, more transparency and a new rhythm, not least in a symbolic sense.

Designing the building sustainably requires an utmost level of artistic and architectural responsibility. Therefore transdisciplinary teamwork is necessary right from the initial planning phase.