Swiss school complex sensitively modernised

In the 1950s, the so-called Gellertfeld, to the east of the centre in the Swiss city of Basel, was developed to provide urgently needed housing. As part of this, the Gellert primary school complex was also built there. This school is an ensemble consisting of two connected buildings, a double gymnasium, a music room with a caretaker's flat and a kindergarten.

At the time, the cantonal architect Julius Maurizio was the one in charge. Although he used the construction possibilities of the time, in terms of design he did not follow the style of post-war modernism, but rather opted for a more conservative and pragmatic approach. Now a complete renovation, including a conversion, was carried out by MET Architects from Basel.

The school complex was built as a pavilion-like structure on a child-friendly scale with a sculpted facade, which still looks high quality from today's perspective. During the general renovation, MET Architects therefore focused on the spatial and functional aspects, in addition to improving energy efficiency and adapting the building to current laws and standards. The aim was to ensure that the school was well prepared for the coming decades, both in terms of its structure and its educational offering. The MET approach was to rethink the distribution of use and to be able to achieve this with only a few structural interventions, with the 60-year-old structure proving to be a high-quality structural basis. It was important to all parties involved to renovate the building in line with a comprehensive and balanced understanding of sustainability. If possible, not only the shell itself, but also the finishing materials were to be preserved.

Comprehensive construction measures

All the roofs and building envelopes, including the windows and sun protection, were renovated. Besides this, the entire building services were replaced, the bathroom units and all interior surfaces were renewed, and the entire school complex was reorganised in accordance with fire protection, earthquake safety, energy, security and accessibility requirements. Conversions that influence the shape of the building are designed in such a way that they blend in naturally. A good example of this is the attic of the second school wing. This attic is equipped with shed dormers on both sides, allowing the attic space to be used as a play area in the future.

MET Architects made an important change to the kindergarten: previously, it consisted of three pentagonal main rooms with partially open intermediate areas. The former cloakrooms have now been converted into group rooms, while the formerly uncovered outdoor spaces have been closed off with timber walls that complete the expressive building geometry, creating space for the new cloakrooms and wet rooms. The layout of the gymnasium building, on the other hand, was slightly optimised to create greater flexibility for the teachers. The new wall cladding in the gymnasium allows the integration of technology in accordance with Swiss sports guidelines and also significantly improves the acoustics.

Fresh spatial atmosphere

Until now, the interiors were rather functional, inexpensive and furnished without any recognisable overarching idea, in line with a conservative notion of school teaching. MET Architects have introduced an overarching colour and material concept that gives the heterogeneous buildings a common identity and thus creates a noticeable overall enhancement and a new sense of belonging. High-quality materials such as artificial stone and clinker brick floors, wood panelling, doors and windows, as well as inlays from the period of the original building were preserved and merely refreshed. In keeping with the original design, the walls in the corridors of the school buildings were plastered. New additions included acoustic plasterboard ceilings, cellulose-based wallpaper with a canvas structure and linoleum floors in the classrooms. The ‘Geller’ luminaire – a development by MET Architects – can be found in many areas.

All sections of the building are heated by district heating, cooling is done by overnight cooling, almost all roofs now have photovoltaics that cover most of the demand. Rainwater tanks collect water for watering the sports fields, and the new planting was selected with a focus on biodiversity. There are new roosts for bats and nesting boxes for swifts. The project received an honourable mention in the Deutsche Bahn competition ‘Respect and Perspective – Building in Existing Contexts’.

Project data:

Architecture: MET Architects, Basel

Client: Bau- und Verkehrsdepartement des Kantons Basel Stadt, Städtebau & Architektur, Hochbau, Basel

Structural engineering: wh-p Engineers, Stuttgart/Berlin/Basel

Construction management: Proplaning, Basel

Landscape architecture: August + Margrith Künzel Landschaftsarchitekten, Binningen

Electrical planning: Eplan Elektroengineering, Reinach

Technical building planning: Herrmann + Partner Energietechnik, Basel

Sanitary planning: Bogenschütz, Basel

Civil engineering: Gruner, Basel

Location: Emanuel-Büchel-Strasse 15, 4052 Basel (CH)

© All images: Piotr Hraptovich, Basel