The German School in Madrid
- Jakob Schoof
The new German School in Madrid was conceived as a cluster of buildings largely pentagonal on plan and with a honeycomb layout. A consistent range of materials was used for the structures, namely white concrete, glass and aluminium. The kindergarten, the primary and secondary schools accommodate 1,640 children. There is also a dining hall for approximately 400 pupils, a four-part gymnasium and a hall for 700 persons that is used for public events as well. The school buildings are accessible mainly from the courtyards, with the internal spaces oriented to the landscape. The two covered courtyards have their own individual faces with aluminium grid structures inspired by Moorish architecture. The load-bearing facades to the classroom tracts consist of precast V-shaped column supports and concrete upstand beams (parapet walls) with sloping tops set on the in-situ floors. Reinforcement for the upstand beams was incorporated in the floors. The facade columns in white concrete were then assembled on top, and in a third stage, the parapet walls were constructed in self-compacting in-situ white concrete. An additive in the in-situ elements prevents the penetration of water.
