as an adventure was the starting point of the design.

we have chosen not to use obvious materials.

sometimes smooth, mostly unfinished they form a unity that does not leave people untouched.

of the existing gymnastics hall and the new school building are finished in the same manner, with a thin film of mortar, called slempwerk.

traditional local craft, the buildings form a coherent unity with an appearance like they’ve been there for years.

was the basic thought for the lay-out of the total plan.

a distinctive building with a small-scale charisma, where within the context of the entire building, all users can express themselves.

A school building is a special building in a little village, because almost all the inhabitants have spent an important part of their life there. This means that, as an architect, you can give children something for the rest of their lives, because everybody remembers his or hers old school building.

The Primary School Cluster is located in the heart of Aarle-Rixtel in the south of Holland. It has different users. The main structure is based on a recurring building block of 50m2, which is connected for each independent user in a different way. This circuit determines its own identity, but because of the modular design, compatibility is guaranteed in the future and growth and shrinkage can be captured. The implementation of different angels of inclination into the slanted roofs, is a result of a maximum of spaciousness and variation.

Project Name: Community School Aarle Rixtel

Location: Laarbeek – Holland

Client: Gemeente Laarbeek

Program: 2 Primary schools, kindergarten, childcare, library, sports facility

Design: 2011

Completion: 2015

Floor Area: 3015 m²

Photocredit: BASE Photography