Typology Education, Sport Construction Volume GFA 5,000 m² Client City of Aachen User City of Aachen Architecture kadawittfeldarchitektur Competition 2022 – 1st prize Start of planning 2024 Certification BNB Silver (targeted), DGNB Gold (targeted)
#New build: 7-group nursery + dual-purpose sports hall #Comprehensive sustainability concept #Reuse of cladding bricks
The new 7-classroom nursery, complete with two single-pitch sports halls, is being built on a 2,125 m² site in the densely built-up historic city centre of Aachen. The primary aim was to provide the children with spacious, high-quality outdoor areas for playing and running about, despite the confined building site and complex topography.
The building blends seamlessly into the fragmented block-edge structure of the historic surroundings and reflects its varied height gradation. A partial recess on the ground floor widens the street space and creates a sheltered forecourt that serves as an inviting entrance. This is where the separate entrances to the nursery and the sports halls are located, which can be accessed and used independently of one another.
The new building blends in with the block perimeter and its low-rise development.
The ground floor, which is set back in places, creates a spacious entrance area facing the street.
Despite the limited space available on the site, spacious, green outdoor play areas are being created.
Given the limited size of the site, a key design objective was to create high-quality and varied open spaces. As the sports halls take up a large part of the site, they are largely embedded into the ground. The roof is at the level of the first floor and provides a spacious, green play and recreation area for the children.
The nursery is situated on the upper floors. The group rooms face the green courtyard and have direct access to outdoor areas – on the first floor to the roof garden above the sports halls with numerous play facilities, and on the second floor to a spacious balcony that extends the entire length of the building and is connected to the roof garden on the first floor via an open staircase.
The mezzanine floor houses administrative offices, a kitchen and a multi-purpose room. Here, too, an adjoining roof garden enhances the quality of the space.
The entire building has been designed to be accessible. A ground-level bicycle storage area on Franzstraße provides convenient and secure parking for bicycles and scooters right in the city centre.
In the interests of sustainability, the choice of materials focuses on low environmental impact, healthy building materials and the reuse of materials from the demolished existing building.
The clinker bricks from the existing building have been reused in the new construction. In collaboration with Klinker Historika, a rear-ventilated curtain wall system was developed as part of the project. The clinker bricks are applied as brick slips onto a supporting substructure made of recycled aluminium. The construction method does not require adhesives or grout, thus enabling environmentally friendly, single-material demolition and reuse. In this way, up to 95% of CO2 equivalents are saved compared to the production process for new facing bricks. Even small fragments of the clinker bricks are reused as substrate in the outdoor areas.
In addition, the existing building offers further opportunities for reuse, ranging from window sills and glass blocks to washbasins and natural stone slabs, all of which are being taken into account in the planning.
Where possible, recycled concrete or low-carbon concrete is used. Non-load-bearing internal walls are constructed using a timber frame with cladding of clay building boards, and timber panels are used on the façade.
The diverse greenery on the roof surfaces and in parts of the façade compensates for the sealed surface area and creates retention areas, whilst simultaneously improving the microclimate and biodiversity.
