písnice elementary school

The concept of the analogy of a human hand grasping the mass of the original school building in its five fingers is the basis of the material design. The five fingers - each with a slightly different functional use - leave the space of the old school so that it is clear at a glance what is an extension and what is the historical essence of the complex - the original trunk. Therefore, the concept of the additions' facades consistently designed as a unified substance is part of this dichotomous hierarchy. The individual fingers differ only in proportion, not in the type of cladding. On the east side, a blank facade ties the mass of the extensions to the very boundary of the school grounds. It is analogous to the behaviour of the adjacent building on the adjoining property; it is a principle found in many places in the original native village. The main access to the building is from the school's front on the south side. Our volumetric design of the additions emphasises the dominance of the original school building; therefore, the new buildings are shifted by a half storey relative to the existing school floors. Despite all this, almost the entire floor area of the school is accessed for wheelchair users. The spacious central lobby is the focal space where all levels meet and balance. It is the epicentre of the whole school. This place is where everyone - pupils, teachers, visitors, parents - can meet, gather, hold an informal event or performance. The abundance of natural daylight also brought in through the skylight invites people to relax. Entering the communications lobby, even a first-time visitor should be able to easily "read" the entire layout of the school's volumes and safely find the right way. The principle of the arrangement of the additions' masses is derived from the parallel with the human hand. However, the notion of the external materialisation of the structure and surfaces is based on a concept meeting with the human hand to a certain extent, although rather metaphysically – that is, on the analogy of a hand fan of a colour card. The visual inspiration for the materials and shape of the building is, in fact, the metaphor of a colour card. What interests us here is the principle of the dense horizontal plying of its leaves, the tiny overlaps, the occasional revelation of colour even on the outside - strictly on horizontal surfaces. At first glance, the added masses are made of the same neutral grey dough as the old school's parent building. Inside, however, they revel in all the colours of the world. Each horizontal surface connected to the building is a carrier of colour. The colours chosen for each finger are always in a trio of tones from one family of the colour spectrum. Thus, one finger is yellow, the next one is blue, and another is green. Translated into constructing reality, it generates a simple rule - horizontal surfaces such as floors, ceilings, windowsills = always full colour. Vertical surfaces - walls, fillings = always neutral grey.