refreshment of an old school

Literally and figuratively a refreshment of an old school building. In early 2012 we started the design for the renovation of the Metis Montessori Lyceum in the Oosterpark in Amsterdam.

On our first visit it was obvious that something had to happen. We barely got the door open, the air was so thick . And when inside, you were treated to the reverberation of a cathedral which led - in conjunction with a lot of Amsterdam enthusiastic high school students - to a great cacophony. The building reached the maximum level of speech unintelligibility. And all this in combination with sad colors and jaded paintwork and a lack of visibility and spaciousness . Here and there some traces of what once must have been a very nice school.

fris interieur CML oosterpark


In eighteen months all of this has been resolved. Fresh Schools Class B is reached (a Dutch tool to determine the indoor air quality. A is best). The air ducts have been concealed very subtly in double walls and behind acoustic ceilings. Fresh colors , new furniture and with plenty of visibility and transparency. And yes, during the breaks the deafening adolescent twittering is still about, but outside these periods peace and concentration prevails. This is achieved by using new corridor ceilings and sound absorbing panels with portraits of famous world citizens. We are satisfied as an architect but more importantly, we met with proud and satisfied users!

CML oosterpark nieuw interieur

Read more about this recent refreshment (in Dutch).