Johann Gutenberg Grammar School · Erfurt · Germany

Johann-Gutenberg grammar school, Erfurt, Germany
Rehabilitation and extension

After the massacre of a student in 2002, the school was subjected to an extensive redesign. In February 2003 Koch+Partner was selected as the winner of the European-wide competition "redesign and expansion of the school and campus Gutenberg-Gymnasium Erfurt".

The central idea of the design was the comparison and the spatial and functional connection of the old and new, as well as high and low, as mutually complementary antipodes.
A single storey plinth was inserted underneath the powerful Wilhelminian style school building that dominates the Gutenbergplatz. The roof of the plinth is accessible from both front sides by the cantilevered staircases. The well-arranged spatial sequence allows short and direct connections. As a result the historical Wilhelmine school was given a modern and democratic base.

The school auditorium is as a common meeting place for events, the space is formed by the staircase that serves as a communication platform and stage area. The platform leads the pupils through the foyer and cafeteria area inside the school building into the schoolyard. Below there the new 2-way sports hall opens. By lowering the sports hall and auditorium into the topography they were integrated into the urban environment. The side walls of the new building were completely glazed to bring daylight into the building while generating a trans-parency that contrasts the surrounding environment. All additions were designed for disabled people.

The well-proportioned schoolyard was obtained in its size and serves as an open space for activities, recreation and leisure. The space is composed through terraces with different themed gardens and hard surfaces. The old building was preserved in its historical structure and converted into a modern school building at the same time.

Project facts and figures

• Location: Gutenbergstraße 6, D-99092 Erfurt, , Germany
• Client: City of Erfurt, represented by Hochbauamt Erfurt
• Planning, rehabilitation and extension:
  K+P Architekten und Stadtplaner GmbH, Ismaninger Str. 57, D-1675 Munich, Germany
  and Büro Leipzig, Wittstockstraße 5, 04317 Leipzig, Germany, in consortium with
  Rainer Schmidt Landschaftsarchitekten, Munich, Germany
• Rehabilitation main building: C. Fischer Innenarchitekten, Berlin with lighting design Conceptlicht Austria
• Total building costs, incl. costs for planning 9,9 m. Euro in total, incl. renovation of the old building (2,87 m. Euro)
• Finance and finance shares 9,9 m. Euro federal funds
• Scope of services K+P: All planning stages from preliminary design to site supervision
  
  New building:
• Gross floor area: 2,000 sqm
• Net main floor area: 1,200 sqm
  Old building:
• Gross floor area: 4,800 sqm
• Net main floor area:  2,700 s m
• Site area: 11,000 sqm
• Length pupil´s platform:approx. 90 m x 20 m
• Start of planning: 2003
• Completion: 2005