Situated on one of the old dunes along de Schelde the town of Ossendrecht (Usse=dune/Drecht=ford) lies in a green environment. The exact position of the new ZuidWestHoek College is inside one of the open spaces inside a nearby forest.
Three main themes have shaped the school’s mass, structure and organization of the educational program: Sustainability, Profile and Safety.
To meet with the need to make the school as sustainable as possible we started by organizing all the different spaces inside the school in close connected to each other.
Although the volume is very compact (gross net ratio = 1,38) there is much room between the educational spaces for movement, to meet and also to have good interior and exterior views.
The flexible structure of the building is based on a rational grid made of freestanding concrete columns and floors. In that way, the school in time is able to make spatial changes in accordance with changes in their educational program.