Austrian School Budapest

Concept

Initiative
school is for pupils!
Architecture
make the differences visible – openminded structures of the new building in contrast with the isolating tendency in traditional school buildings – a school building with balconies?
Technology
a low energy house with several environmentally conscious features

Solution

Driendl Osb James Morris 3

The school in Budapest is an obviously glass appliance that slides up beside a banal school building dating from the 19th century. The project is planned as a three-wing building placed on an approximately north-south axis. The arrangement of the building follows an architectural structure which gets lighter towards the facades. Parallel to this, the floor space of the various sections gets bigger and bigger as one approach the external world through the front walls.

It is a low energy house with several environmentally conscious features, such as the recycling of rain water. The balconies in front of the classrooms (this is probably the only school in the country where classrooms have balconies) are not only a very popular place for students to take their brakes, they also make the rooms seem wider and provide a special ventilation system.

As a result of all this it is not a surprise, that most of the pupils of the senior high school feel extremely well in this building. According to the headmaster, the new building has increased the delight in learning to an unbelievable extent, a fact also confirmed in the school exams.

Info

Category School
City Budapest
Commissioner Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, Austria
Period 2000–2001
Type competition, 1st prize
Status built
Details

site: 13.528m²
built-up area: 1.588m²
net floor area: 3.200m²
floors: 3

Copyright driendl*architects ZT GmbH
Images Elisabeth Haider, James Morris

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