Uetikon School

The Kantonsschule and the Berufsfachschule are located side by side on the lakefront, one in the kiln buildings, the second in a new 5-story building. The two schools thus benefit in a balanced way from the presence of the park and the exceptional views of the lake and the landscape. Together with the Fertilizer building, they form a strong ensemble of public buildings, affirming the new identity of the site.
 
A new building to the north of the site is dedicated to the KUE sports activities. A parking lot is located on the lower level and allows for the concentration of automobile flows outside the schools’ exterior spaces. The exterior space is freed up, encouraging autonomy and appropriation of the site in an open and protected living environment.

The MINT, General Education and Art and Music are organized on three levels in the furnace buildings. Sports are located on the north side, beyond the facade of the power plant.
The teachers’ preparation rooms and the staff room are centrally located and open to the outside and the harbor.
The specific spaces of each of the sectors that are intended to receive the public (Experimentation Hall, Workshop, Art Workshop) are positioned on the entrance façade and open onto the park. They are easily accessible to the public either from the ground floor or from level 1 from the footbridge.

All the sectors are connected by two wide interior streets that cross the building from north to south and offer the possibility of multiple work and meeting spaces for the students. These spaces can be freely arranged as work areas or for more informal discussions. These walkways offer a transversal path between the spaces and functions, and allow varied visual sequences to the lake.

The circulation of the classrooms is equipped with large hoppers that allow light to enter the center of the large halls and make the levels communicate with each other visually.
The double-height hall allows the original structure to be discovered as soon as it is entered. It is directly connected to the large courtyard whose geometry is preserved.
The new extensions on the bridge above the courtyard create protected outdoor spaces.

The program of the Vocational School is developed on 5 levels. Centrally located between the Fertilizer building and the Cantonal School, it integrates in its volume the elements of the program of the premises common to both schools and the Aula.

The teaching rooms are organized on two levels. The central space between the rooms is dedicated to the Gruppenraum and to relaxation areas for the students.

The Aula is located under the sloping garden. It is the interface between the KUE and the BZZ and is also directly accessible to the public from the forecourt.

The media library welcomes users from the sloping garden through a double-height space that is largely open to the historic facades of the KUE and the lake.

The Mensa, accessible from the same level, offers an exceptional panoramic location for the two schools but also for the entire site.

The enhancement of the structure is a major focus in the design of the building. Allowing the structure to magnify the project over the long term is also a key objective. Each wood element is then housed within the building envelope. A secondary structure is used to support the double skin. The continuous envelope does not generate any thermal bridges, which reinforces the environmental performance of the project.

The concept of sustainability also touches the external environment of the project, the design process is based on a global and controlled vision of the wood sector. Wood materials such as CLT and glued laminated timber are engineered materials that allow the use of local resources whose transformation can be assured.

The nearby presence of a hydrothermal power plant fed by the lake offers us a great opportunity to address the issue of energy supply for the heating station. The proximity with this production allows to limit the connection cost and to be supplied with heat via a heat exchanger system requiring a less important technical space. The maintenance of this installation is also simplified. The power needed to supply the site is provided by the urban heating network.

The solar production is ensured by the presence of photovoltaic solar panels located on the roofs of the BZZ buildings and the sports facility. The solar panels represent 70% of the roof surface.

The development of vegetated surfaces through the creation of the park is completed by the vegetation of all the flat roofs of the project. This contributes to the improvement of the atmosphere of the site, by increasing the feeling of freshness and improving the water cycle. A terrace garden is also created on the Sport Building. This garden, an extension of a balcony overlooking the sports halls, is accessible during special events.