Cantonal School in Baden
The planning was designed so that the building complex could be gradually expanded to approximately double its size in later construction phases. Accordingly, a coordinate grid with fixed column spacing, laid across the entire site designated for development, forms the basis for this expansion. Two access axes lined with trees divide the area into three districts with associated expansion areas. The northern district houses the science classrooms, the central district contains the shared work and common areas as well as the general classrooms, the auditorium, and the administration offices, while the southern district was reserved for the gymnasiums. Subsequent expansions of the individual districts can be carried out in such a way that the overall spatial arrangement of the complex remains unchanged. Prefabricated components were selected for continuous assembly. Steel was chosen as the building material for the load-bearing framework and for securing the infill glazing. This alone made it possible to solve the problems associated with the planned prefabricated structures (design of the connection points, pipe penetrations, tolerances in relation to the other components, etc.). Infill walls of exposed brickwork. The separation of the building structure into steel support frames and infill panels corresponds to the spatial planning; this, in turn, was adapted to the chosen construction so that room units could be arranged in a row. A square area with sides of 8 m was chosen as the basic dimension for the uniform supporting framework; this resulted from the prescribed floor area of a classroom. All rooms are situated within a system of solid and transparent exterior and interior walls. The construction allows for a uniform solution of the various connection points to the supporting structure, which had to be designed accordingly. Therefore, a construction with main beams in all support axes and secondary beam grids load-bearing in both directions was chosen. The main beams located on the exterior walls are special beams made of special sheet metal. (Original text 1965)
