School in Berlin
Since Germany’s disappointing showing in the PISA Study 2000, its sixteen states have been revamping the school system, and Berlin is no exception. Although the city is struggling with a giant pile of debts, it is investing in new school buildings that will make it possible to merge college-prep secondary schools with “Hauptschulen” (literally “main schools”, whose graduates do not qualify for university) to create comprehensive secondary schools, as well as to accommodate pupils during the longer school day. This school in the Adlershof borough of Berlin is part of a pilot project; currently the lower grades use the building. The shorter leg of the U-shaped, asymmetrical school responds to the scale of the neighbouring residential buildings. By alternating the plane of the glass – either flush with the inner surface or the outer surface – and the position of the perforated sheet-metal panels that conceal the sash to the left and right of the fixed glazing, a playful impression is brought about. This is reinforced by the small windows puncturing the skin that are seemingly randomly distributed throughout the facade. The wooden frames are set deep in the reveal and are thus protected from the rain. An additional pane of glass glued to the frame protects the wood in the fixed glazing.
