The Elim + Wingerd Community School in Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel is situated in a suburban estate of Nieuwerkerk. The construction around the location is varied: both single-family homes and four to five-storey apartment blocks in template parcelling. The Community School forms a new wall along the Beethovenlaan and, as such, is the backbone of the restructuring of this part of the neighbourhood. On the schoolyard side, the school has a more sculptural set-up with a gym hall and stairs to the upper part of the school. The building façade is of mixed golden yellow brick that enters into a dialogue with its surroundings.
The schools in the building have a lucid organization based on long sight axes so that daylight and greenery can always be experienced, despite the deep central section between the clusters of classrooms. Large voids in which broad staircases link the various levels have been installed in the upper floors of the central section. The gallery-like stairs can be coupled to the playrooms on the ground floor so that a theatrical setting can be created for special occasions, such as Christmas parties etc.
mixed golden yellow brick
fitting with its surroundings