In order to understand the idea and concept behind the new location of the “Gemeinschaftsschule” (a kind of comprehensive school), i.e. the school as a mini-town in Ammerbuch-Entringen, the municipality's historical and spatial development must be briefly explained.
The district of Entringen is one of six districts of the municipality of Ammerbuch and is situated at the foot of the Schönbuch Nature Park. The sloping hills with open orchard meadows and farmsteads extend into the municipality and give way to an extensive, undulating landscape with farmland and meadows.
The six districts were merged into the municipality of Ammerbuch in 1971. They are located in the Ammer valley along the axis between the university town of Tübingen and Herrenberg and are very well connected with each other by the B295 Bundesstraße (A-road) as well as by cycle paths and the Ammer Valley Railway.
Finding a suitable location and starting point
From 2014 to 2017, urban planning test designs and competition procedures were used to investigate various locations in different districts for the comprehensive school founded in 2013. The focus was on
good, safe and easy accessibility
a location that holds potential for further urban development
a location offering a high level of identification for all local districts
a school location that can easily compensate for all-day schooling
Location, development, and building structure – planning process
The “Ob dem Bahnhof” area in Entringen was finally chosen as the location. It is within walking distance of the new barrier-free stopping point of the Ammer Valley Railway, situated on a gentle slope overlooking the town centre, Schlossberg and the Schönbuch Nature Park. This ensured the creation of a new overall urban setting involving a comprehensive school, a kindergarten and a sports hall for schools and clubs.
The architects from K9 Architekten GmbH accordingly designed a building for the school community in Ammerbuch that allows this idea of collectivity to take shape. Four interlocking spaces form the different “districts” of the school, differentiated by primary school, secondary school, specialized classes and sports. Large-size openings in the façade provide a view of the site and the silhouette of the Schönbuch crest during cooking or robotics classes.
A school building, structured like a small town with a “marketplace”, which is bordered by the sports hall and in the meantime by a new element, a children's day care centre, and can also be used outside school hours for parties and events of the Ammerbuch community.
These urban planning conditions and the local topography with a difference in altitude of approximately 10 metres inspired our team from freiraumconcept to create an open space that leaves plenty of room for relaxation and exercise for all-day compulsory schooling with three days of afternoon classes.
In a cooperative process with the school management, the municipality and the school community, the schedule of accommodation and a space allocation plan for the schools were developed in working groups and workshops.
Learning, relaxing, exercising - open space concept
The pupils of the Ammerbuch Gemeinschaftsschule attend the same school from primary school to graduation. They spend much of their school hours and free time together on campus. This place of coming together and integration has a great impact on who they are and who they can become.
Pupils already meet on their way to school on the access road to the school grounds. From the new disabled-accessible pedestrian underpass of the stop, the footpath leads from the town centre past the bicycle parking to the school. Along low hedgerows and overlooked by an avenue of silver lime trees, all pupils and teachers meet up on their way to school. They talk to each other for the first time in the morning, do some last-minute homework on the stairs and play football or tag before the first lesson starts.
The school buildings and sports hall are located within the site in such a way that the difference in elevation of about 4 metres from the avenue of lime trees to the school buildings lends an air of openness and spaciousness and provides a sense of flow. The northern hillsides with steeper grassy slopes compensate for the remaining difference in altitude to the open fields and meadows. Sufficiently wide, disabled-accessible paths and staircases are connected to the open spaces, provide access to the various parterres and activity zones, and lead to the school's playground / marketplace.
All around the playground / marketplace and the various buildings, there are barrier-free, interconnected and communally used recreation and exercise areas for the pupils and the staff.
The play area is located in front of the schoolyard. It is an intensively maintained lawn that can be used to play football or engage in free, unstructured play. Its embankment to the schoolyard with sitting steps made of precast concrete elements and large-size wooden seating blocks from local forests and grass terraces for sitting and lingering form the central element in front of the school.
The playground / marketplace itself is made of asphalt. Integrated into the area are floor markings for road safety education and various underground systems for events and parties. At the pupils’ request, two table tennis tables and a streetball hoop to be used during the breaks were installed in the peripheral areas. Two large patches of solitary shade trees are part of the school-wide planting concept. The market square provides a beautiful view of the town centre and the Schönbuch Nature Park, creating a sense of identity.
The school and sports hall are connected by a tunnel arbour. This permeable structure is the perfect place to meet and chat, regardless of the weather. It also provides a spatial separation from the atrium.
A large number of open spaces of different qualities and with different attractions can be found here. A grove of widely spaced trees with a lawn forms a contrast to the resistant playground and serves as a refuge and sheltered place to relax and spend time in the light shade. Separated by a low hornbeam hedge, there is a streetball court, which forms the transition to the adjacent meadows of the school grounds. It is an element for the active pupils to compensate for the long hours spent sitting in class.
The entrance area of the primary school with a wooden bench incorporated into the façade is on the same level as the marketplace and is spatially separated from the main access road by a small flight of steps.
The primary school playground, which is the core area, is located in the western part of the school grounds and is embedded in the adjacent grassy slopes. Two sitting steps made of precast concrete elements and wooden seating blocks echo the design quality of the marketplace and level the slope in the lower area.
If you step out of the assembly hall, you will find a small forum where you can sit down or have lessons outdoors. Tables and chairs were moved to this area, even in the times before the pandemic, and classes were held in front of the open windows of the classrooms.
The school campus with its various activity areas, which has been developed based on the topography, extends to the meadow parterres facing the open landscape. In a cooperative process, future development potentials have already been identified and spaces to accommodate further activities and future attractions have been provided.
Another overriding request was to reuse the existing playground equipment of the primary school in the open spaces and to incorporate it into the concept. For example, a large roof was added to the existing bouldering facility, making it usable regardless of the weather. Together with the existing climbing equipment, this now forms a play and exercise area for the youngest children. Other levels have already been prepared to accommodate a possible large-scale play structure directly related to the primary school.
One level intended for the school garden has been successfully used after only two years of operation. It was used agriculturally and horticulturally for the first time this year and fruit and field crops were grown. The school community, with parents and local businesses, has embraced the site and been inspired by its scenic location.
A mini-town cannot exist without alleys and courtyards. Walking through the assembly hall and corridors, you come across bright, light-flooded courtyards that correspond with the various uses.
The refectory courtyard, with its spacious terrace and distinctive courtyard tree, is the perfect place to eat and study outdoors. The spacious planting beds form a buffer zone to the adjacent study zone of the primary school and are pleasant to look at.
The workyard is the outdoor area of the adjoining workshops, providing plenty of space for working outdoors. There, the pupils can engage in urban gardening, grow plants in pots or build nesting boxes. The enclosed planting beds with the multi-stemmed flowering crabapples are an eye-catcher for those in the music rooms, which are also adjacent.
A green carpet of plants runs through the reading courtyard, in which individual seating areas provide the pupils with a retreat. Being pleasantly fresh and cooling, the courtyard is especially sought after in the summer months.
All in all, the school offers a very wide range of activities for all pupils. Each child can be individually promoted, exercise, jump and romp around with the other children amidst it all. They can withdraw, recover and relax. The teachers take on the role of observers, guides and coaches. An inclusive, cooperative open space where all ages and personalities mix; parental involvement and partnerships with external stakeholders are key components of the concept: learning - relaxing - exercising.
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