The new building is centrally located on the River Mur and is accessed from the Leobner Stadtkai. On behalf of the clients, the theme of the new building was the image of Noah’s Ark: The Ark as a meeting place open to everyone.
The theme is an impulse for the overall conception of the facility and accompanies the children content wise and atmospherically. The curved structure looks like a ship’s keel and gives the view of the schoolyard behind, which is used by the hoard children in the afternoon. The building is stepped on the east side, deep-set atriums bring sunlight into the interior of the building and provide exciting insights and perspectives. To the garden side, the building is two-floor and houses on the ground floor the 5-group kindergarten and nursery. Upstairs, the four hoard groups are housed, with a front balcony, which runs like a railing over the entire length of the building to the terrace, which – similar to a ship’s deck – offers additional space. All group rooms are oriented towards the garden side – towards Mur -, which means that school and kindergarten can enjoy undisturbed activities. Inside the building, the access zones on both floors have been transformed by skillful zoning in addition to play areas and work areas, so that gear solutions could be avoided. This generally usable space was also spatially differentiated with colored boxes housing the sanitary and storage rooms. The resulting niches are used by the children for free and self-determined play. The color choices of walls and facilities support group affiliation and orientation.
The varied space positively influences the creativity of the children and corresponds to the ambitious pedagogical concept. The “Ark” is built in complete wood construction.
