Orientierungs­schule Vouvry

0052Orientierungs­schule Vouvry

Large and gleam­ing gold, the Vouvry district school build­ing sits between the Rhone River and the busi­ness centre in the valley of the lower Valais region. In dimen­sions and form, it is remi­nis­cent of the indus­trial build­ings that occupy the valley floor. Joined together at the centre of this compact, three-story build­ing, with its recessed ground-floor, is a triple gymna­sium, around which all of the other rooms and circu­lation zones are grouped windmill-style. The district school build­ing is covered in a skin consist­ing of folded sheet brass. The tradi­tio­nal techno­logy used for the facade breaks up the larger form of the build­ing, as does the recessed ground-floor, above which the two upper stories project outward 8 meters on all sides, creating a roofed common space. 

Students and teachers enter the build­ing via corner entran­ces situated on the east and west sides of the build­ing. Cascade stair­cases, each occupy­ing the entire breadth of the trans­verse side of the build­ing, ascend to the upper levels. On the upper­most level, the gym walls are entirely in glass. These provide views through the entire level and into the hall. Sky­lights admit day­light into the centre and the upper­most level. In the common room and corri­dors, walls are paint­ed wine red. Con­trast­ing with them are the white gymna­sium and the class­rooms, pan­elled in white. The concept of the support struc­ture is based on a mega­structure. In con­junc­tion with the ceil­ings above and below, the sep­arat­ing walls in the class­rooms of the second upper story form a load­bearing structure. Suspen­ded from it is the first upper story, executed in wooden construc­tion.