abj Architekt:innen GmbH

The Mühlenberg district in the south of Hanover is receiving a central educational and community center with the replacement building for the primary school. The design takes up the cultural diversity of the district and creates an intercultural marketplace as a meeting place. This new meeting place strengthens the existing qualities of the surrounding area and creates a protected yet open space that symbolizes the intercultural and inclusive orientation of the school.

The new primary school is harmoniously integrated into the surrounding buildings and, with its two-storey structure, blends in with the neighboring terraced houses and residential buildings. Projections and recesses create a three-sided neighborhood square facing Leuschnerstraße, while a sheltered courtyard to the west serves as a retreat for the pupils. The trees, including an identity-forming plane tree, will be retained and supplemented by green islands.

The new building is functionally divided into two construction phases: First, the primary school with forum, foyer, canteen and assembly hall was built in the northern section, followed by the sports hall and family center in the south. The arrangement of the functions creates a gradation from public to semi-public and private areas. The different parts of the building are connected by a central access corridor, which acts as a backbone and connecting element. The façades of the new building are made of beige clinker brick, which makes the different areas of use visible through different color accents and supports the identification of the users with the building.