Extension of the cantonal school – Romanshorn, Switzerland

The design is based on the mirror-image extension of the existing concrete building and forms a coherent, horizontally oriented school complex. The extension and addition of storeys create a non-hierarchical, barrier-free school building, whose compact form preserves large, contiguous green spaces. The chosen timber construction method ensures that the extension and additional storeys remain clearly visible, while the continuous interior structure integrates the new and old elements into a single functional building. The grid of the existing building’s supporting structure is consistently continued in both the additional storeys and the side extension. This also makes future expansion easy.

The interior restructuring is so consistent that old and new merge inconspicuously. The extensions and additional storeys form a new structure with the existing building, which blends into the outdoor space. This spatial fusion is created by the roof gardens of varying depths. Views through and out of the building, daylight and spatial permeability contribute to easy orientation within the school complex. The conceptual coexistence of architecture and landscape is clearly evident at the main entrance, from where you can enter the building or climb a staircase to the roof garden.

The extension of the cantonal school in Romanshorn does not view school solely as the basis of an efficient education system. It develops an architectural and landscape environment in which teachers, pupils and residents feel at home.