Thoughtful Expansion

The Jan Wellem School in Bilk seamlessly bridges past and present

For a long time, the two listed turn-of-the-century buildings were the second location of the Heinrich Hertz vocational college. After it moved to a new building on Redinghovenstraße, the detached buildings were to be combined to form the new school location for the Jan Wellem School, with a focus on learning and social and emotional development. bertbielefeld&partner; architekten ingenieure from Dortmund, who had planned the new building for the vocational college, were also commissioned to extend the existing buildings on Heerstraße: they renovated the listed buildings and, with a keen eye for proportion, added a new central building, a canteen and a triple sports hall to create a harmonious ensemble.

The existing school buildings, dating from around 1900, form a listed ensemble in the front area facing Heerstraße, together with the old trees and a city wall. The single-storey new building connects the two school buildings, creating a central entrance and a new shared address for the school without detracting from the existing streetscape and the external appearance of the ensemble. Another important aspect of the planning was to connect the different levels of the old and new parts of the building in a barrier-free manner, taking into account both fire safety requirements and heritage protection issues. A particular challenge was to integrate specialist rooms and workshops with the necessary infrastructure. The two existing buildings have also undergone a visual metamorphosis: As part of the renovation measures, the original structural elements, such as the cap ceilings, were exposed and can now be permanently experienced thanks to their whitewashed surfaces. In constructive dialogue with the monument preservation authorities, opportunities were created to break up the classic central corridor structures and create qualities of stay, visual references and spaces for a contemporary, modern educational concept. A new triple sports hall was added at the rear of the property, partially dug into the ground to ensure that the new building blends in as well as possible with the existing ensemble of buildings. The sports hall, which is also accessible from Mindener Straße at the rear, includes a large grandstand and thus offers a wide range of competition opportunities for club sports – especially in special disciplines such as Rhönrad gymnastics or cycle ball. Finally, a green inner courtyard has been created between the sports hall and the extended school buildings, which can also be used as an outdoor classroom and workshop for learning in the open air. The access area in front of the buildings, on the other hand, has been redesigned into an exciting schoolyard under the canopy of the old plane trees.

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