HAVO/VWO Carmel College Salland
HAVO/VWO Carmel College Salland
HAVO/VWO Carmel College Salland
Student comes first, school in a green setting
The task
The aim was to design a school for the more than 1500 students that feels small and pleasant to use. A school where the student is central. In order to achieve this goal, special attention was paid to small scale. The result is a building with pleasant and stimulating learning spaces, where indoor and outdoor blend naturally.
Ingrid Hegeman, Carmel College sector director about the new school: “Our educational concept was the starting point. Dorte Kristensen and Martijn de Visser from atelier PRO made a successful translation into a learning environment and desired facilities. An important task was also to combine indoor and outdoor, because our location is located in a beautiful park. It has become a modest and spacious building, small in scale and based on the educational vision.”
Domains
To achieve the desired small scale, the building has been divided into six “domains”. In the domains, students and teachers work together in small teams. The domains can all be reached directly from the central auditorium. The design has the shape of a hand. The palm is the auditorium and the fingers are the domains. The fingers are spread so that the building opens up to the green landscape.
Bocage landscape
The design of the outdoor space is inspired by Salland's bocage landscape; it alternates between open and enclosed areas. The main entrance is located on a large, sunny square and is easily accessible via the main access road. On the north and west sides, there are two squares that are respectively connected to the sports field and the adjacent VMBO school. Bicycle parking and parking spaces are landscaped and surrounded by hedges. The building always offers a view of the green surroundings through the large glass fronts.
Interior
The bright interior reflects the educational concept. The domains are equipped with various types of classrooms: classrooms, learning centers, quiet areas and places where you can learn collaboratively. Those places outside the classrooms invite you to work depending on learning needs. From informally in groups to isolated concentration. Materials and colors are light and natural with an accent color per domain. A number of pieces of furniture were also specially designed by atelier PRO for the project, such as large lounge sofas, which are mobile and can be divided into four smaller sofas.
Flexible use
The domains are flexible in use. The facades and columns form the supporting structure; the rest of the space can be arranged freely. The classification takes into account the nature of the use, from busy to concentrated. The entrance to the domains is located on the side of the auditorium and there are a cloakroom and the instruction rooms. This is followed by flexible learning places where you can work independently or together. In the back, in the quietest spot of the domain, is the open learning center with a view over the landscape. There are also quiet workplaces for total concentration.
The auditorium, where all domains connect, is two stories high. A balcony and a bridge make the space multifunctional and playful. The auditorium is ideal for use during breaks, but also for school performances and presentations. A stage and grandstand staircase form the heart of the auditorium and are the place for students taking breaks. There is also a piano here to play freely. The auditorium has a large glass front that overlooks the sports field and the adjacent park. It gives the central hall a lot of space and light. With curtains, the auditorium can be transformed into a theater.
Beta domain
The practice rooms of the Beta domain are located along the main entrance. This allows you to get a glimpse of the tests and tests that students carry out in the exact subjects. In doing so, Carmel College presents itself as a Universe school to get students interested in science and technology in a casual way.
Piano keys
A playful window layout has been created for the facades, which brings verticality to a relatively low and horizontal building. The windows on the ground floor and the first floor are linked but shift relative to each other. The aluminium windows run from floor to ceiling and vary in size. There are large windows in front of the instruction rooms, small ones for the work rooms. The dark anodizing color was chosen to match the brown-grey brickwork of the adjacent VMBO building. The parts next to the windows are made of light brickwork. This creates a play of lighter and darker strips, such as the keys of a piano.
Integrated whole
From school building to classroom, inside and out, from entrance to silent workplace, from large to small. Carmel College's new HAVO/VWO forms a complete and integrated whole. Philosopher Bas Haring spoke at the opening: “We have a very nice school building here, something public that looks good and that makes me very happy.”
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