The urge towards outdoor spaces
The old building with its long corridors, linear study blocks and dark interior no longer met the needs of the school. It was also situated along the street without taking advantage of the full potential of the plot. The local government organised an open architecture competition including the demolition of the Soviet building. The new layout in the brief was largely based on the minimum area requirements making the interior space highly compressed.
A natural classroom extension
The new solution sought ways out of the limited indoor space by activating the outdoor space. The courtyards between the scattered ground floor volumes were covered with glass proposing a new typology – an intermediate space functioning as an extension of the indoor space. The courtyards can be accessed directly from the classrooms and the public area thus overcoming the conventional but human comfort threshold. Typical of Hiiumaa, there is no need to worry about your front door although the area around the school is in full use.
Sensory diversity
The landscaping and planting boxes activate, enrich and steer the activities. The outdoor space can become a place to spend the breaks where the rules are more relaxed than indoors. Also the smells, sounds, temperature and light are different, allowing to diversify the sensory experience of the school day.
Text by: Ott Alver