A Grand Structure in an Intimate Setting

A place that feels surprisingly navigable despite its scale—one that balances intimate, sheltered spaces with generous open areas, and where you simply want to linger.

Officially unveiled in 2019, the Ammerbuch School Campus, situated west of Tübingen, brings together a community school, primary school, and sports facility across 9,900 m² of gross floor space. K9 Architects won the design competition in 2014. The two-story structure—articulated by three light courts and a welcoming entrance atrium—establishes an open, inviting learning environment. The soft, warm-toned plaster façade echoes the surrounding Schönbuch landscape, while large timber-framed windows dissolve the boundary between interior and nature, flooding the spaces with an ever-changing dialogue of light and color.

The south wing houses the two-stream primary school, the north wing accommodates grades 5–9, and the central section contains shared specialist facilities. The offset room clusters create dynamic in-between spaces that naturally support differentiated learning across all age groups. At the school's heart sits a two-story entrance atrium, crowned with skylights and ringed by a first-floor gallery. When the multipurpose room and adjacent canteen join together, they form an expansive gathering space for community events and activities. The sports hall similarly thrives as a shared resource—equally vital to the school and the local athletic clubs. A modest grandstand allows visitors to take in competitions and tournaments as they unfold.

The design philosophy centered on creating a place that feels compact and legible despite its footprint—a space offering both refuge and breathing room, where occupants naturally want to spend their time. "It's a big building," noted Wolfgang Borgards of K9 Architects during the opening ceremony, "yet organized like a small town." Picture a central plaza with a theater, food vendors, and four distinct neighborhoods: the primary school, specialist classes, secondary school, and sports facility. They flow into one another almost imperceptibly, threaded together by intimate parks. Stone walls orient the eye, warm dark flooring grounds the experience, while pale ceilings and walls channel daylight deep into every corridor. Doors painted in varied hues mark the different routes forward, each one concealing a discovery for students. When the vitality of the main plaza grows too intense, students can always retreat into the calm of the courtyards or find refuge in the library.

www.k9architekten.de