The urban structure of the district Vossener is characterized by an allotment from the sixties and seventies. This fragmented strip-sized allotment consists of multi-detached houses, and streets that are never uninterruptedly straight and characterized by garage boxes. Footpaths and green fields provide variation in this street pattern, but despite these diverse small variations the feeling of repetition and continual spaces is dominant. In response to this, atelier PRO has designed a contemporary, characteristic and plastic building. The sloped and rounded shapes demarcate the environment. The wide glass entrance creates an inviting aura.
The building is situated on a large green lot, surrounded by two-storeyed buildings with a roof construction. Over the years, the surrounding trees have grown to become a beautiful green entity. The wooden vertical facade parts of the school correspond with the neighbouring green of the ‘Discovery garden’, whereas the characteristic plasticity of the building provides a contemporary and distinct core to the Vossener district.
After entering through the wide glass entrance, you arrive in the reception hall and the central meeting place, which together form the core of the building over 3 storeys. The central administration, cooking studio and the entrance to the childcare domain, are situated around this core. The childcare domain is distinguished by a striking piece of furniture that frames the entrance. On the first floor, around this void, the communal classrooms are situated, for instance for music and other creative subjects. On top, on the second floor, the community association ‘t VAC (Vossener Activities Centre) is located, together with the collective staff rooms. The schools have their own entrance and central core, but additionally the lower grades of both primary schools can be reached from the central entrance. The heart of the schools borders two games rooms that can be coupled. Directly above these games rooms, the classrooms for the higher grades can be found around the gymnastic hall.
The city of Venlo has high ambitions concerning the so-called building system ‘Frisse Scholen’ (fresh schools); they strive for level B. This means a high ventilation rate, extra attention for acoustics and lighting, and a clearance height of 3.2 meters in the common rooms. In addition, a lot of attention was paid to sustainability. Therefore, thermal energy storage has been chosen to heat and cool the building. A sun-thermal energy roof has been chosen for the roofing, making it possible to generate energy by means of the sun.
