De Kikker community school


Dok Architecten

De Kikker community school (enlarged view in image gallery)

Photos: Dok Architecten, AGIOn

  • De Kikker community school
  • De Kikker community school
  • De Kikker community school
  • De Kikker community school
  • De Kikker community school
  • De Kikker community school
  • De Kikker community school
  • De Kikker community school
  • De Kikker community school
  • Status:

    Realized

  • Education level:

    Primary Education (pre-school + primary)

  • Address:

    Evertsweertplantsoen 3, Amsterdam - Osdorp

  • Client:

    Stadsdeel Osdorp Amsterdam

  • Keywords:

    Community school

  • Programme:

    2 primary schools (6200 sq.m.), community health services (430 sq.m.), day-care centre (530 sq.m.), offi ces, classrooms, winter garden, auditorium, gallery, playroom, sports hall, storage space, teachers’ room

  • Area:

    7160m2

  • Number of classrooms:

    45

  • Completion:

    2006


Multipurpose building, full of character, with attention to all ages

The extended school de Kikker accommodates 2 primary schools, a day-care centre, afterschool care facilities, a health centre, and training and integration facilities. The aim of bringing together the functions of education and care for young children and facilities for parents is to increase the development opportunities of schoolgoing children.

The school has been named after the specifi c volumetry and the striking green exterior façade. Above the violet brick façade on the ground level, the façade is covered with bright green high-pressure laminate panels, containing glitter in the top layer. The building and the exterior environment is subdivided into three age zones: the day-care centre, the lower and middle schools, and the upper school. This subdivision according to age defi nes the internal organisation and volume. A bold publicly accessible outdoor area, serving loitering teens, characterises the playground of the upper school. Via the gallery and bridges the youngsters can reach the upper school classrooms. In this way the passage through the lower school areas is ‘short-circuited’. This creates a safe enclosed playground for the toddlers, pre-schoolers and fi rst years. By making these choices, the architect winks at the youthful target group. A school must above all be a home to each child, with positive and remarkable memories.

Notwithstanding the large scale of the project, the design aims to create a homely feeling. The explicit choice of wood as material makes the school soft and colourful, creating a pleasant atmosphere. It gives it a feel of lightness in terms of weight and character. In addition, the design ensures that the separate parts of the building can properly function on their own. For instance, each school has its own entrance from the winter garden and each section has a ‘block’. This ‘block’ contains a cloakroom, toilets, a kitchen corner, workplaces and a duplex. The functioning of a classroom is completely turned inside out and the interaction with the children is studied. Broad corridors with alcoves provide room for group work and individual work. Even the 40 cm deep windowsills can be used to display works, readers, etc.

At the core of the complex lies the winter garden. It is a joint entrance for the different partners and for external parties. The winter garden can be used as outdoor classroom, lunch room, meeting place for local residents, a waiting room for parents and a covered playground. With its huge glass façade and functions for local residents, the winter garden so to speak welcomes the neighbourhood, builds a bridge between the various partners, and acts as a climatological buffer.

Still, the architects also faced a number of challenges when designing and constructing this community school building. For instance, in the beginning the optimal control of the indoor climate through mechanical ventilation caused problems. A correct adjustment of the installations provided the solution. There were many advantages to the timber frame structure, but the vibrations of the gymnastics room on the fl oor towards the underlying fl oors were a disappointment. To resolve this, adjustments have been made to the floor.

The design for the de Kikker extended school has been awarded the innovation prize of the School Buildings Award 2007 and the Amsterdam Architectural Award 2008.