School Campus Bernhausen, Filderstadt, Germany

The municipality of Filderstadt had set itself the task of architecturally upgrading the school buildings of the existing Gotthard Müller School and the Fleinsbach School in its Bernhausen district. The new elementary and community school building replaces the Gotthard Müller School, and new expansion space supports all-day operations at the Fleinsbach School.
There are openly designed communicative spaces and differently configured classrooms and group rooms, as well as rooms for joint use by both schools. A shared foyer provides access to facilities used by both schools, such as the student library and the dining hall; the latter has a particularly important function as it is the place where students can gather, communicate and learn. The first floor, together with the agora outside, forms a square that offers many opportunities to meet and mingle.
Vertically, the atrium branches out and leads to the functionally separated schools on the upper floors. The elementary school, which includes several "learning houses," is arranged on two levels. The community school spans three levels, each housing a learning studio, a classroom, and a spacious outdoor terrace.
The basis for the energy-sustainable operation of the building is the comfort concept. It was developed together with the architect and is oriented towards maximum utilization of the building's thermal properties. Thanks to the passive energy measures, the need for technical building equipment is limited to what is necessary.
The classrooms and the teachers' large workrooms each have two decentralized ventilation units with heat recovery. They are integrated into the facades and supply the rooms with sufficient fresh air exclusively during the time of use. In the summer, the doors to the outdoor balcony in the classrooms can also be opened. The ventilation units ensure that the rooms and the concrete ceilings, which are 50% free, cool down during the nights.
The school receives district heating from the existing CHP unit of the local indoor garden pool. The heating coils of the mechanical ventilation units with appropriate capacity heat the classrooms. The rooms without mechanical ventilation as well as the kitchen, cafeteria and ancillary rooms are heated with radiators.
The school manages without mechanical cooling. Thanks to efficient solar shading and night cooling with air, comfortable room conditions are ensured even in summer.
Transsolar also carried out daylight simulations during the planning phase and supported the architects with recommendations, e.g. regarding the overhangs through the balconies or in the structural design of the facades.