Program: Secondary School (HAVO-VWO & sport facilities)
Client: Lukas Onderwijs
Designteam: Winfried van Zeeland (together with Pascalle Asgarali, Jaap van Es, Anneke Heins, Gert-Jan Masmeijer/Van den Berg Kruisheer Elffers Rotterdam)
Contractor: Dura Vermeer Divisie Bouw & Vastgoed, Leidschendam (Design & Build)
GFA: 6944 m2
Cartoons: Rik Slinger

To translate the mission of the Edith Stein College (organizing the educational program around a central space for meeting each other) we did the following:

• Design a building volumes as compact as possible in order to maintain as much space around the school as possible;
• Make a spatial connection between the new part of the school and the existing Chapel by designing a four storeys high, central open meeting hall in the heart of the school;
• Meet with the quality of the urban space of the Louis Couperusplein by making a clear ending in combination with an inviting public entrance.

Spatial and functional cohesion in five design steps:

• Compact: wish of city, school and local residents
• City: act on the special quality of the Louis Couperusplein
• Connection with the Chapel: interaction between old and new
• Gyms: Inclusion within the total building volume
• Airy, Light and Spatial: connection between all parts in an organic way

The main ceiling in the Meeting room: The Globe
The daylight-lit central meeting space is covered by a glass roof with a colored mosaic representing the World’s Globe. At this precise communal space it symbolizes the World as the place where everyone can contribute to in a positive and sustainable way.

Airy, Light and well-arranged spaces
At every level of the building students can see and can be seen. In this open atmosphere all parts of the school are connected. It means a great commitment to each other and a booster for working together.

School as part of the urban fabric
The facade is made out of red brown brick. The four storeys building’s roof top floor is glazed. The North Façade is formal and refers in scale and materialisation to the adjacent apartments. The other part of the school is orientated towards and molded into the green setting surrounding the school. Inside is outside meaning that the interior organization of the spaces relate to the qualities of the site. More than sufficient and big windows allow the daylight to enter the classrooms.

A good school is a save place
One of the most important things going to school is approaching it safely in a logical manner. That’s why we kept the main entrance in the existing historical part at the north side of the school. The students get an new entrance, directly connected to the green playing ground an sport facilities orientated on the south side.