Vosholen Child Center
Vosholen Child Center
Vosholen Child Center
An earthquake resistant building for the future of Central Groningen
Reuse of a monumental boiler house
The new child center is located in the Vosholen residential area, southeast of the village center of Hoogezand. The old cultural landscape of peat extraction was taken as the starting point for the development of this district. On the grounds of the child center, there is a monumental old boiler house with a brick chimney — a reminder from the time when greenhouses were still here. For atelier PRO, these were important elements to include in the design.
The farming past as inspiration for the design
The child center has an appearance that refers to the farming past of the area. It consists of two linked buildings, with the boiler house and chimney in between. Together, this forms a robust ensemble with red-orange brick brick facades and arched roof tiles; we have enlivened this' base 'with a palette of red tones and special masonry surfaces that give the whole more depth and character.
Multiple and flexible use of space
The building houses two primary schools - the Theo Thijssen School and the Sint Antonius School - a daycare center, an after-school care center, a preschool and a gym. The users preferred an outward-looking design where they could all function independently, with their own recognisable entrance, schoolyard, layout and color palette. Thanks to convenient routing inside the building, the common functions are easily accessible to all users, and spaces are easy to exchange.
An earthquake resistant school building
The construction of the building took longer than planned; as a result, both schools had already grown during construction and needed more classrooms. And because the school is located in an earthquake zone, the building also had to be made earthquake resistant as a result of stricter regulations. This is where the strength of the design came to the fore: with limited adjustments, the building could be expanded with the new rooms; the construction was reinforced and made stiffer for earthquake resistance.
Future-proof: neutral but with special accents
The building has a fixed basic structure - the structure, installations, corridors and stairs - and a flexible layout with light partitions, the classrooms have wide sliding glass doors and large closet walls. The layout and design offer space for different forms of education — classroom and individual teaching are easy to organize by the teachers themselves. The interior is restrained, with lots of white and cheerful accents here and there; the placement of the skylights provides playful light into the compact square building blocks. The two building blocks and the boiler house are connected by a transparent, multifunctional room that, marked by the chimney, functions as the showcase and the heart of the child center.
Sustainability: passive building
The child center is a smart and sustainable building where both orientation and technical development are inspired by the principles of passive construction. It has the quality of Frisse Scholen label B. The building consists of very compact, well-insulated building volumes (Rc façade 5, Rc roof 6, three-layer glass, EPC 0.76). There is low temperature heating with radiators in the group rooms and local floor heating. The balanced ventilation is CO2-controlled per room. There is plenty of natural daylight and views, and at the same time, the sun load is limited. In addition, the lighting is energy efficient with a daylight-dependent control. And there is a lot to open. When choosing materials, maintenance, cleaning and easy repair in case of damage were the starting points. With all the measures mentioned, the building has low operating costs (energy and maintenance) in line with the Life Cycle Cost idea.
With the child center, the Vosholen district got a building that will age beautifully and that will invite you to all kinds of activities far into the future.
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