Zollverein School as project architect at SANAA

Zollverein School as project architect at SANAA

Nicole Berganski has been the responsible project architect at the Japanese office SANAA from the competition until the implementation. The construction supervision has been rendered together with Andreas Krawczyk.

The Zollverein School is located on the border between an old industrial site and suburbia. The building relates to the scale of the former coalmine Zeche Zollverein, acting as an attractor for the site. At the same time it responds to the neighboring houses with its setback from the street.

The section of the Zollverein School is a study of different heights for different functions. Public functions are concentrated on the ground floor. The first upper floor, the design studio, has the highest clearance for a maximum flexibility and a pleasant atmosphere fostering a creative working environment. The second upper floor contains the library. Seminar rooms are spread out and are provided with different characteristics. Some quiet work places are provided along the northeast façade. On the third upper floor, offices are arranged around courtyards allowing for daylight, natural ventilation and views from each workstation. The highest floor is conceived as a partly covered roof garden.

The external walls enclose the volume, yet through the apparent random of the arrangement of square holes, the outside and the interior spaces initiate a subtle interaction. The position of each opening is decided in accordance with the spaces.