16.5.2023
Paul-Winter School
A school outside the town center—embedded in the landscape
Six school buildings and a sports hall ranged along a “school street” are woven together into a well-structured campus. Indoor and outdoor areas offer a close connection to the landscape, diverse courtyards, and a central communicative atrium flow into one another to create an inspiring and unique educational environment.
In Neuburg an der Donau in Upper Bavaria, Behnisch Architekten together with ALN Architects, have completed the Paul-Winter School which offers a new home for the city’s 600 middle school age students. This middle school with its double sports hall, outdoor sports areas, cafeteria, and rooms for full-day care has been developed in an attractive scenic area on the edge of the town. The different buildings and functional spaces are ranged along Kreuter Weg: school buildings, schoolyard, athletic fields and green areas are harmoniously integrated into the sloping hill and have barrier-free access at all levels.
The interwoven design of the indoor and outdoor areas led to the creation of an interlocking, modeled school and learning landscape. The central meeting point is the “school street” connecting the individual buildings with one another. This fluid area of movement and communication offers direct access to the green surroundings and makes it easy for pupils and faculty to find their way from one area to another. Along this axis at the center of the school, is the two-story assembly and auditorium area with its generous stair and seating elements offering an attractive location for events, while promoting communicative interaction and a sense of community. The school’s horizontal orientation with subtle projecting roof overhangs and minimal floor height differences allows for an open view across the fields from atop the town’s historic fortifications.