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School

St Leonhard.

Overview

St Leonhard school complex, renovation and new building

St Gallen, Switzerland

Competition 1st prize 2010

Construction start July 2015

Launch 08/2017 (School), 02/2018 (new building)

Client

City of St Gallen, represented by Hochbauamt St Gallen, Switzerland

Architecture

Marco Merz Marion Clauss GmbH für Architektur, Basel, Switzerland

Site management

Schertenleib Baumanagement Partner GmbH, St Gallen, Switzerland

Team ZPF

Heike Egli-Erhart, Flavia Hofmeier, Johanna Hohenwarter, Conor Murphy, Sali Sadikaj, Flamin Tröster, Manuel Wehrle

After 130 years without any noteworthy structural interventions, the St Leonhard schoolhouse in the St Gallen neighbourhood Davidsbleiche had to be renovated and spatially adapted to the changed school concept. To retain the structure of the historical schoolhouse, all its uses that required a lot of space were transferred to the new building. A sophisticated interplay between the St Leonhard schoolhouse and the new building was achieved by means of the latter's clinker facade, positioning and form, thus strengthening the complex as a whole, with the schoolyard as the centrepiece.

 

In the historical schoolhouse, which is listed by the city of St Gallen, all surfaces and installations were renovated in keeping with environmental guidelines, except for the wooden panels, the rooms' doors and the radiators. The schoolhouse facade was repaired and now radiates its former glory anew.

 

The new building accommodates the day-care facility, with a professional kitchen and multipurpose hall on the ground floor, west and east of the central stairwell. The two-storey single gymnasium and changing rooms are situated on the first floor. On the second floor, above the changing rooms, there is a bright walled outdoor playground, accessed via a separate stairwell. A former civil defence installation, links the buildings underground, while also providing storage space and exercise areas for the day-care facility.

© Christian Kahl
© Christian Kahl
© Christian Kahl
© Christian Kahl
© Christian Kahl
© Christian Kahl
© Christian Kahl
© Christian Kahl
© Christian Kahl
© Christian Kahl

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