Kloppend Hart school opening

Kloppend Hart in Warmond officially opened on Friday, November 27^th, 2015 and if we were to take it literally, we would say that this heart has started beating.

And we, Romanian students from Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning in Cluj-Napoca were invited to join the opening. But not only the school heart was beating; ours too! While stepping inside, our first thought was whether the school was a private or a state one. In our country, Romania, schools that are similar to this one are usually privately owned. Regular Romanian state schools provide only the amenities strictly necessary for learning activities, but there is less focus on conceiving a creative environment or a flexible one. Furthermore, we found really appealing the idea of mixing the school with a space for the community, rarely found in nowadays Romanian schools.

So what is the project about; It is combining an existing community center with three primary schools, the building is located in a green area of the town called Warmond and blends into the landscape as the new construction spreads only on the ground floor (a staircase-free intervention, a premiere for atelier Pro). The existing and the new buildings are connected by a central, multifunctional space, merging the rectangular part with the new wavy-shaped school. One of the design features is flexibility, as classrooms can be reduced or enlarged depending on the space needed for different learning or leisure activities. Among balloons and other welcome decorations, we could actually perceive how the space of the hallway tightens and then enlarges again creating a playful and inviting atmosphere. The use of natural materials (such as wood) and the careful choice of colors have largely contributed to framing a warm and creative learning environment.

It was not only the officials who marked this special day, but also the children - the day-to-day users - who proudly brought their contribution to the opening of their school. The delight of the evening was a short movie prepared by pupils and teachers for the opening event, letting everybody understand that they have already embraced this space as their second home.

Our colleagues at atelier PRO where proud to see the end result, and rightly so, but even more when they realised they created the positive effect the building has on their users. This is better lives through better buildings for you!

Read more about the Warmond Kloppend Hart project here

Ioana Mladin
Carmen Mladin