Unterdorf Elementary School, Höchst (AT)
New building

Client: Municipality of Höchst
Location: A-6973 Höchst, Gaißauer Straße 10
Architecture: Dietrich Untertrifaller
Competition: 2013, 1. prize
Construction period: 2015 – 2017
Area: 2,530 m²
Ecology: KGA 940 points, energy coefficient: 16 kWh/m²a
Programme: Four clusters, each with two classrooms, group and quiet room, recreation room, special classes for 200 pupils, administration, assembly hall, gymnasium

Photos: Bruno Klomfar
Video: 9 sekunden, filmstudio for architecture. urbanism. landscape. corporate culture.

Team
Suzanne Bentlage, Peter Nussbaumer, Katharina Reiner (Project management)

Text: Gerlinde Jüttner

Partners
Statics timber: Merz Kley Partner, Dornbirn
Statics concrete: Gehrer, Höchst
Building services: e-plus, Egg
Electrics: Hecht, Rankweil
Building physics: Weithas, Hard
Building ecology: Spektrum, Dornbirn
Thermal building simulation: teamgmi, Schaan
Landscape: Heinrich, Winterthur
Construction management: gbd, Dornbirn
Master builder: i+R Group, Lauterach

Awards

  • x, Award
  • Holzbaupreis Vorarlberg, Recognition
  • The Plan Award, Award
  • Wood Design & Building Award, Award

Uncompromising cluster school

The Unterdorf primary school in the municipality of Höchst in Vorarlberg is a radical and uncompromising realisation of the modern "cluster school". Cluster school means teaching in small groups, flexibly usable rooms and varied open spaces, preferably with an outdoor connection. We have housed four identical clusters for 200 pupils in a simple, elongated, ground-floor wooden building on the east side.

At the centre of each cluster is the common room, topped by a high truncated pyramid with daylight streaming through the skylight. Gardens and outdoor classes with direct access from each cluster blur the boundaries between inside and outside and integrate nature into the learning environment. Special classes and the administrative offices are located opposite on the west side, connected to the lowered gymnasium by a spacious assembly hall. Parts of the outdoor areas are available to the local population as a freely accessible play and leisure area.

With 940 points, the school in Unterdorf received one of the highest scores ever for a new building in the "Municipal Building Pass" of the state of Vorarlberg. 

The learning environment

A direct exit to a separate garden and outdoor classroom area integrates the outdoor space and enables short transport routes. The choice of materials is based on sustainability and ecological optimisation. The "grey" energy could be drastically reduced by using wood, a renewable, regional building material.

The central common room

The educational concept is characterised by playful learning in manageable, family groups. These groups are located in separate "houses" on the east side of the building. In each of the four clusters, two classrooms, group rooms and quiet rooms are arranged around a central common room with a high roof. Spatial diversity and good organisation result in a diversified, flexible learning landscape.

From the very beginning, a working group consisting of teachers, community representatives and consultants was involved in the planning and also took part in the construction meetings. This close collaboration was a key factor in the successful realisation of this pioneering project, which defines a new school standard in Austria.

The 100 metre long and 40 metre wide school is constructed entirely of timber, with the exception of the concrete parts in contact with the ground. As the surfaces of the multi-layered, glued solid wood panels are not clad, the timber construction remains visible in all rooms. Pupils benefit from a better learning climate and a pleasant, warm atmosphere in the building, which also saves on heating costs. Large areas of glazing provide the necessary transparency so that the teachers can always keep an eye on the children when they are learning or playing in small groups in different rooms.

The lowered gymnasium

The two-storey gymnasium is lowered to keep the building flat. A building-long ribbon of windows brings daylight into the basement. As the gym and its adjoining rooms are independently accessible, it can also be used by sports clubs outside of school hours.

The large windows in the corridor allow you to watch what is happening in the gym.

The numerous lines of sight are a constant invitation to use the common room in the centre and strengthen the sense of community within the cluster.

Insect biotope on the flat roof

The extensive green flat roof compensates for the higher consumption of floor space. This not only ensures optimum thermal insulation and protection against overheating in summer, but is also an ideal bee pasture and an inaccessible, living biotope for numerous insects.

Floor plan L0
Floor plan L-1
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