Volksschule Edlach Dornbirn
The elementary school in Edlach was originally slated for renovation. However, it soon became clear that only a new building could meet the requirements. The result is a newly developed, pedagogically optimized cluster school.
What is remarkable in this particular case is how far the concept evolved from the 2012 competition design to the completed project. The design at that time divided the elongated floor plan into two halves: a long row of east-facing classrooms on one side and movement areas, smaller project rooms, and specialized classrooms on the other. A central staircase led from the ground-floor entrance hall up to a central first-floor corridor. This scheme retained the classroom as the primary locus of learning, with supplementary rooms attached— without any relationship between the classrooms themselves.
In the realized project, by contrast, the floor plan is organized into clusters, each combining three homerooms and two project rooms around a shared central zone to create a unit. Nothing has changed in the basic orthogonal shape and, at first glance, the floor plan still recalls a corridor school with an extra-wide central aisle.
Yet all walls facing this central zone are glazed, and instead of one main staircase, two equally large staircases rise from the open central cloakroom to the upper level—keeping the middle of the cluster zones free from through traffic. Restrooms are located only on the ground floor, making stair climbing a regular exercise even for the little ones. Small loggias and courtyards carved into the volume extend each cluster by adding a directly connected outdoor classroom. A new feature in the spatial program is a generous ground-floor atrium—not a passageway, but a hall that can also serve as a small theater.
From the outside, the school presents itself as light and almost floating, clad in decorative silver fir, an effect that is made possible by a robust load-bearing structure of steel, concrete, and timber. A ventilation system with heat recovery and the careful choice of environmentally responsible materials reduce the ecological footprint.
[ Edlach Primary School, Dornbirn ] Architecture: Dietrich Untertrifaller Architekten ZT GmbH. Client: Stadt Dornbirn. Structural engineering: gbd ZT GmbH, Peter Nagy. Landscape architecture: stadtland planning GmbH. Procurement procedure: Invited competition. Planning and construction period: 2012–2016. Usable floor area: 3 770 m². Address: Edlach 6, 6850 Dornbirn, Vorarlberg.