Strength and Unity
The new main building of Erich Kästner School translates institutional values and guiding principles into architectural form.
Erich Kästner School in Farmsen-Berne is an inclusive school serving over 1,400 students across two campuses. Grades 1–6 are housed at Berner Au, while grades 7–13 occupy a site several hundred metres away at Hermelinweg. In 2014, the decision was made to rebuild the main building at the Hermelinweg location. Designed by SEHW Architects, the new structure is positioned directly at the street frontage to strengthen the school's presence and create a distinctive gateway to the reorganised campus. True to the campus concept, the building emerges as a robust, compact volume that, together with existing structures, frames the future schoolyard. The façades feature a relief-like pattern that abstractly echoes horizontal chain links—evoking associations of strength and unity. This architectural expression brings the school's core values to life, making them tangible to those who encounter the building.
The building's programme is organised vertically by floor. The ground and mezzanine levels house publicly accessible spaces—available for all-day operations—where the school presents itself to the broader community. A central, stepped atrium connects all floors, creating dynamic visual relationships and flooding the interior with light and clarity. The terraced arrangement with offset levels offers both students and staff generous freedom of movement—literal and figurative alike. A restrained palette of monochromatic tones, seamless flooring, and carefully selected high-quality materials reinforce the overall sense of luminosity and calm.
On the first floor, circulation spaces surrounding the central atrium double as presentation and exhibition areas for student projects. Administrative offices, differentiation rooms, and seminar spaces are oriented toward the exterior. The second floor mirrors this logic: project work areas cluster around the atrium, while science classrooms and collections face outward. On the third floor, spaces for visual arts, computer science, and general instruction are arranged around a roof terrace.
Photography Credits:
Andreas Fromm
www.frommfotograf.de
(Published in CUBE Hamburg 04|20)
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