Elementary school Neuhart

Graz

Status
implemented

Period
2020-2021

Client
dreiplus Architekten ZT GmbH
GBG Gebäude- und Baumanagement Graz GmbH

Architecture
dreiplus Architekten ZT GmbH

Team G4C
Bernhard König, Michela Thaler, Greta Weifner

The extension

The elementary school Neuhart was extended by a new building, which is arranged around a central courtyard. The inner courtyard is thereby the central lighting and reference point, reading courtyard, outdoor classroom and resting space in the building. It is a showcase into a dense, staged natural space that can be seen from surrounding, extensively glazed common rooms. The forest oasis was thereby built on a seepage body.

The courtyard as a central lighting and reference point – Reading courtyard, outdoor classroom & quiet room

The choice of planting is based on the forest ecotype of mixed beech-fir forest with fern-moss communities with the leading species of copper beech, hornbeam and fir. Emerging beech and fir trees form a dense undergrowth. The woody plants shade the adjacent premises in summer due to their foliage and allow sufficient light to enter in winter. In addition, due to the evergreen conifers, they provide a green view and insight even in winter.

In the northern forest strip, are planted shrubs and ground cover with fruits for snacking. The shrubs at the edge to the adjacent fern-moss society form a visual barrier into the courtyard interior, creating a forest feeling while standing in the courtyard.

Green ferns and mosses grow year-round in the shaded perimeter areas of the courtyard with moss-covered boulders and dead wood. These areas are visible from inside the building and are intended to provide a glimpse into the forest understory.