The school’s existing building was built at the beginning of the twentieth century, and its combination of a robust rough-hewn stone base, centralised façades and large tiled roof, make it one of the more prominent public buildings in the city.

The project was required to double the size of the school, and it extends the existing building with a new volume in line with its eave, to define the first of the public places of the greater site. An extensive restoration and restructuring of the existing building, alongside accommodation in the new building, provides a kindergarten, elementary and high schools, as well as a large public hall that can be used by the school and by the community.

While the existing school is robust and slightly Romanesque in its architectural language, the new school has a taut and stucco skin that is consistent and modern. The ground floor and end elevation of the new building are built with in-situ concrete in a reduced classical language, to emphasise the public use of the building and its role in the formation of a new civic centre for Neuhausen.

In addition to the school, the wider site will be occupied by a new town hall and the main fire station. There is also a plan for a variety of housing types for families and the elderly. The project envisages a loose constellation of buildings – related to each other in architectural language and scale – accommodating the required programme in a flexible way, while defining a precise network of open spaces for a public market, for sport and for children’s play.

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