Cambium College Zaltbommel

EDUCATIONAL,

Cambium College Zaltbommel
School for Secondary Vocational Education

EDUCATIONAL

Main goal for the design was to translate the educational ideas of the school into coherent spaces, organized logically and economically. This is achieved by putting classrooms for theory and practice on every level close to eachother. At the same time the overall volume is compact in order to make the best possible building aspect ratio.

Located at a tricky point in the city, a no man’s land between the historical center and the undefined business area of Zaltbommel, there really was an opportunity for the building to become something special. Making an connection between old and new and atrackting attention towards the site and its function as a school.

The school is deliberately not shaped as a box, but rather like an elegant slab, curving around an big interior space where students and teachers meet in an informal way.

Cambium College
Oude Bosscheweg 2
5301 LA Zaltbommel
2011

Client: Cambium College, Zaltbommel
Project management: Brinkgroep, Tiel / Woonlinie, Woudrichem
Design: Winfried van Zeeland met Jaap van Es, Joost van Dijk, Gerrit Everding, Gert Jan Masmeijer (Van den Berg Kruisheer Ellfers architecten, Rotterdam)
Contractor: De Vries en Verburg, Stolwijk
Completion: juni 2011
GFA: 6.030 m²
Photography: Rene de Wit / Harm Herkens

Three main principles have shaped the design of this school:

School as a place to meet
Designing a central transparent and open space connecting all floors with each other. A place where you can meet and where you can see and can be seen;

Connecting Interior and exterior
Projecting the aula on the first floor organizing it in such a way that it is connected with the hart of the school and at the same time has its viewing point towards the St. Maartens church at the historical center of Zaltbommel

Identity and appearance
Let the building look like a real vocational school with attention to craftsmanship. This is accomplished by applying local brick and introducing sheded roofs that provides natural light from the north entering deep into the practice areas.