Special School in Garbsen
Viewed from the north, this special school in Garbsen, Germany, has the appearance of a simple strip development. From within, however, it reveals itself to be a surprisingly complex organism, consisting of a series of open and closed spatial structures. Designed to accommodate a community of 40 teachers and 100 children with learning difficulties, the school provides a pleasant living and educational environment. Instruction takes place in four single-storey classroom tracts, each with a pitched roof that slopes down to an individual playground area to the south. The wider, two-storey section of the school houses administration spaces, a therapy centre and a gymnastics hall. The large entrance foyer in this tract is used as a play area for all the pupils. It is covered with a transparent, pneumatic membrane roof that allows natural lighting of the double-height space.
