Editorial

Anyone looking for traces left by school and schooldays in literature is likely to come across some not very flattering passages that provide food for thought. The smell of waxed floors, the stony-sweet fug in sterile corridors and the unmistakable scent of pencil sharpenings awaken memories that tend to be somewhat stifling. Obviously we are not dealing with dramatic tricks or welcome literary topoi when everyday life in schools in stories and novels triggers oppressive feelings as a phantom of confinement, monotony and spiritual deadening. Expert reminiscences refer to the actual teaching, others relate explicitly to the school building itself, whose form and smells inevitably make their mark on every child. We have known that for a long time. But it would be a big mistake to suppose that past generations did not try to find appropriate buildings and teaching models, intended to ensure that children and young people developed and thrived under the various conditions. A glance at the history of school building in the 20th century confirms how architects and educationalists regularly looked both backwards and forwards, seeking approaches with strong implications for the future and sketching out „the school of tomorrow “. Today official regulations and a wide range of guidelines laid down by the client offer architects less, sometimes granting so little scope that it is scarcely commensurate with the task, and at the moment educational theorists have very little to say about school buildings. So it is all the more remarkable when the occasional innovative type emerges among the many new school buildings that are going up. In concrete terms, seven recently completed schools illustrate how different the planning and building procedures are in towns and in the country, at the primary and secondary levels, for particular schools and for schools intended for children with special needs. The individual buildings and complexes can be compared only with difficulty, even though the common denominators of serving teaching and providing teachers and taught with a comfortable and motivating environment make them close relations. Generally, flexibility in handling space is a requirement. The rooms should permit various teaching methods, and also be suitable to be used for purposes other than schooling. A school is also a particularly significant public place. It is a symbol of community life, and wishes to be perceived as such in the structure of the village and the town as well. We have yet to see how well our new schools will stand the test of time. And the pupils? Some surprising results come up when they are asked to draw their dream school: in the main the buildings they come up with are entertaining and a little odd: nature proliferates, the colours dance. As though nothing could be more obvious: why should children not associate their schools with the pleasant things of life, as offered by a comfortable home? Who knows whether tomorrow's literati will write different novels?
The editors

Thema

Inge Beckel
Schulbauten im 20. Jahrhundert

Anton Strittmatter
Pädagogische Koordinaten für Schulbauten

Thomas Odinga
Schulbau wohin? | Architektur und Pädagogik - ein schwieriges Miteinander

Martin Tschanz
Städte im Kleinen | Typologische Neuerungen im Schulhausbau

Nott Caviezel
Campus Muristalden, Bern

Sonja Lüthi
Schulhaus „Compogna“, Thusis

Tibor Joanelly
Oberstufenschulhaus, Oberbüren

Gabriela Güntert
Neubau Heilpädagogische Schule Wettingen

Martin Tschanz
Zurich International School, Wädenswil

Forum

Kolumne: Beat Wyss
Wettbewerb Neubau Universität Luzern
Manhattan, Soho und Queens in Basel?
Raum zum Spielen und Lernen | Mobilität für die Schulstube
bauen + rechten
Beton-Musterhäuser am Wiener Stadtrand
Ausstellung Bahnhof Bern | Ausstellung Alexandre Sarrasin
Baukultur in Zürich
Architekturausstellungen | Neuerscheinungen | Veranstaltungen
Beruf | Wettbewerb | Firmennachrichten
Vorschau | Impressum

werk-material

Bart & Buchhofer: Erweiterung Collège des Trois-Sapins, Echallens
Adrian Twerenbold, Reinhard Nägele: Primarschule Riedmatt, Zug