Kindergarten, Etterbeek
The campus of the ‘Koninklijk Atheneum Etterbeek’ is located in a former castle park in Etterbeek. The project involved building a new kindergarten and redeveloping the outdoor space. The implanting of the school preserves all the greenery. Meaning is brought into the layout: the construction of a small amphitheatre, seating areas around trees, a play hill…
The building itself is inviting and has a clear and readable plan where all functions are brought together under one large saddle roof, as if under “mother’s umbrella”. The ten classrooms are clustered L-shaped around a multipurpose room, which opens to the outdoor play area. Six classrooms and the multipurpose room are on the ground floor. Upstairs there are four classrooms and the necessary technical areas. The classrooms are clustered in pairs around a common entrance hall and sanitary facilities. Five classrooms have a “window” to the multifunctional hall.
The outer walls are finished with a panelling of thermally treated wood. Together with the green roof, the building fits in perfectly with its green surroundings. In addition to its intrinsic sustainable qualities, this design also aspires to be a healthy school, with a good indoor climate, constructed from healthy materials and with minimal energy consumption. This new kindergarten is built according to the passive house standard.
It is subsidised by the Flemish Community as one of twenty-four “passive school” pilot projects and has been selected by the Brussels Instituut voor Milieubeheer as an “exemplary building in terms of energy and eco-construction”.
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