Raw concrete, cool renovated

School renovation Gymnasium Neustadt a. d. Waldnaab (Germany)

With the conversion and energy-technical modernization of the gymnasium in Neustadt an der Waldnaab in the Upper Palatinate (Germany), Brückner & Brückner Architekten has succeeded in a multi-award-winning transformation of the raw concrete architecture of 1977 into a modern school building. The goal was to create a contemporary learning environment that meets today's requirements. The architects realized the sun protection for the classrooms with elegant shaft-base-frame screens with drop-down arm from Warema.

A new structure for modern learning concepts

The gymnasium in Neustadt an der Waldnaab is part of a school campus on the outskirts of this regional capital. It was built in 1977 by the architects Georg Rembeck, Xaver Bogner and Ferdinand Hasl on a clearing in the forest. Together with the required energetic renovation of the compact concrete architecture, Brückner & Brückner Architekten succeeded in transforming the unpopular concrete building into a contemporary center for learning, communicating and meeting. For the modern school function, the room layout was systematically restructured and a new entrance situation with large outdoor staircase was created. The auditorium is also new, with daylight ceiling and a library distributed over several floors, with lecture hall and communicative seating areas in the corridors. This created a cutting-edge school building, technically and functionally state-of-the-art and with light-flooded rooms in warm and bright colors. This alone would have earned the project an award, also because the extensive transformation took place at ongoing school function and with material-saving use of existing materials.

Cool facade makes you feel like school

No less praiseworthy is the successful transformation of the voluminous concrete facade, which in its new design plays creatively with the elements already present and from the outside alone symbolizes a forward-looking school function. The once painstakingly crafted concrete facade had become considerably darker and sadder after more than 40 years. Apart from the rough structure and the - by today's standards - insufficient insulation, the quality of the concrete curtain wall was not questionable even after almost half a century and a demolition was not advisable both for design and sustainability reasons.

An 80 mm thick, mineral interior insulation was sufficient for the energy upgrade. The old aluminum windows were replaced with new wood-aluminum windows and fitted with silver-gray frame screens from Warema as sun blinds. The heaviness of the concrete facade is now playfully interrupted by narrow aluminum strips embedded in the vertical structure of the parapet elements. They brighten up the facade and, depending on the time of day, give it an ever-changing appearance. Where new construction was needed, as well as at the escape stairwells, and at the main entrance, the architects contrasted the rough concrete structure with a shiny mirror façade of polished aluminum composite panels. Trees and bushes are reflected here - the sight almost seems to dissolve and, as a quasi dematerialized mirror image, forms a maximum contrast to the massiveness of the existing facade.

Good indoor climate for better learning performance

Comfort criteria such as lighting conditions and room temperature have a major influence on students' ability to concentrate and performance. Even a difference of just a few degrees Celsius can make a decisive contribution to thermal comfort and thus to learning success. Therefore, the right choice of measures against glare and heat has a significant influence on pupil motivation and learning outcomes.

In the renovation of the gymnasium in Neustadt an der Waldnaab, the architects opted for effective exterior shading and used shaft-base frame screens with drop-out arms from Warema. The awnings could be integrated into the shaft above the lintel of the new windows. The modern Warema arm technology ensures an always optimal fabric tension of the flame-resistant special fabric. The dirt-repellent awning fabric with PVC-coated Soltis 92 reflects solar radiation in summer. Even when the fabric is completely lowered, the view through to the outside remains, and thus the visual contact of pupils and teachers with the outside world. In addition, even when the blinds are lowered, natural ventilation is possible through the open windows. The selected Soltis fabric has a very high color rendering index and makes the interior look natural even when the blinds are lowered. Due to the anti-glare effect, good conditions exist for a productive learning climate in the classroom even in strong sunshine.

Building sign

Project: School renovation Gymnasium Neustadt a. d. Waldnaab, Germany

Location: Bildstraße 20, 92660 Neustadt an der Waldnaab, Germany

Usage: School

Client: Landkreis Neustadt a. d. Waldnaab, Germany

Architecture: Brückner & Brückner Architekten, Tirschenreuth/Würzburg, Germany

Completion: 2022

Prizes: Material Prize 2021, prize in the Material Use category; Architectural Concrete Prize 2023; nomination DAM Prize 2023; prize BDA regiNO Prize 2024

Products: Shaft-base frame screen with drop-down arm, Cloth: Soltis 92 Dessin 045, color metal hammered, dirt-repellent equipment, hardly flammable according to DIN 4102-B1, Frame color RAL7016 matt