Dortmund is leading the way in progressive school construction. The "Dortmund Way" combines building renovations with rapid, modular construction of new schools—an approach that delivers fast, flexible, and efficient results while trimming both time and costs through streamlined production processes. The outcome: contemporary buildings that are economically and environmentally responsible. For the Heisenberg Gymnasium expansion, the city took sustainability a step further by specifying green steel. Alho realized this innovative, sustainable cluster school as the general contractor, working closely with planning firm futur.drei.

The 3,730 m² extension rises to the west on the former grounds of the adjacent secondary school, comprising three full stories plus a staggered top floor. To the north, mature trees create a natural visual buffer between the campus and the residential neighborhood beyond. The architects intentionally designed a square footprint—a strategic choice that optimizes the surface-to-volume ratio and minimizes thermal losses through the building envelope. A living roof provides ecological offset for the newly sealed ground surface, while planted façades and inner courtyards enhance the site's greenery. The interior organization responds directly to contemporary pedagogical practices. Each floor features a central cluster hub anchored by the circulation cores, with learning clusters radiating outward. Classrooms surround these transparent centers, creating flexible zones for independent study, pair work, and small-group instruction. The cluster hub naturally extends the reach of individual classrooms while fostering spatial connection. Classroom windows facing inward serve multiple functions—from display surfaces to collaborative thinking walls for Post-its and annotations. These adaptive learning spaces flow seamlessly into movement areas, differentiated learning zones, open gathering spaces, and multipurpose event rooms.

Cutting-edge technical systems support diverse digital learning approaches throughout. A central atrium floods the interior with natural light and complements the laboratory garden—a "green heart" for the teaching clusters. Fresh air circulation, optimal climate control, ergonomic furnishings, and vibrant color palettes create an environment where both students and teachers thrive. The project also broke new ground with green steel. Sebastian Trautermann, Alho's Rhine-Ruhr regional manager, explains: "Heisenberg Gymnasium is Germany's first modular school to use structural frames made from green steel. This is CO₂-reduced steel produced entirely from recycled scrap, eliminating the need for virgin raw materials. By employing the electric arc furnace process—which melts steel at lower temperatures without coke—we achieved roughly 30 percent CO₂ savings compared to traditional solid construction."

www.alho.com

Photography:
Alho
Markus Steur
www.steur.de

(Published in CUBE Ruhrgebiet 01|25)