Bildungszentrum Pestalozzi Leoben
From “dark heart” to light-filled center: Out of over a thousand proposals developed jointly in an ideas workshop, the radical transformation of a listed but spatially unattractive building was achieved.
It was a curious structure: a convoluted plan, awkward ornamentation, and so clearly missing a window axis in its central risalit that the asymmetry was painful to look at. Planned during the harsh years after World War I and opened in 1927, the school was a political statement. With its own new school building, Donawitz wanted to assert itself as an independent municipality and distinguish itself from Leoben. The costs, however, proved crippling and ultimately led to Donawitz’s bankruptcy and subsequent merger with Leoben.
The justification for heritage protection is primarily grounded more in social history than in architectural merit. Therefore, the challenge was to significantly enhance the building’s attractiveness without undermining its historic value. The renovation aimed not only to consolidate three different schools under one roof—an elementary school with integrated special-education classes, a middle school, and a polytechnic school—but also to give them a genuine new home.
Initial plans, already coordinated with the heritage authorities, focused only on new windows, improved insulation, and upgraded classrooms. But the City of Leoben building authority, in dialogue with future users, quickly realized that a mere surface renovation would not suffice. The foundations for a radical renewal were laid in a comprehensive participatory process, for which the municipality engaged Büro nonconform and architect Michael Zinner. The participatory format that nonconform has developed for just such cases is an “ideas workshop” and is best explained by its slogan: “Three days from now, everything will be different.”
Held in 2014, the workshop brought together users and municipal representatives under the guidance of an eight-member team that reenvisioned the project so radically that it became one of the most interesting listed school building renovations in Austria in recent years. The analysis of the status quo produced predictable criticisms: The school had a “dark heart,” where all circulation routes converged in a cramped, poorly lit space; it had “dead ends with no view out,” and its labyrinthine circulation areas created spaces of fear. There was also neither a library nor a cafeteria.
More than a thousand suggestions were generated in writing and as sketches. While it is not possible to finish an entire design in three days, a strong mission statement concept and numerous ideas resulted. It was clear that the school should have a bright new center, with light from all directions. This required multiple horizontal and vertical openings in the central part of the building, which the Monument Authority approved—after weighing the interests of preservation and use—as being in the best interest of the users. All three principals’ offices now sit side by side on the first upper floor, fully visible through floor-to-ceiling glass walls.
There is also transparency between the corridor and the classrooms. Because of the thick brick walls, openings could not be floor-to-ceiling; instead, they appear as circular tunnels with an 80‑centimeter diameter—just large enough for younger children to crawl in and lounge at their “tunnel windows” overlooking the corridor. All classrooms are designed as “tandem classrooms,” with pairs connected by two doors—enabling shared teaching without detouring through the corridor. A new library and cafeteria were added in one of the courtyards, with a play terrace above and a large garden staircase. Not all decisions will go unquestioned: Are the oversized ramp structures placed in front of the school and leading to the basement cloakrooms truly the best solution? Was it necessary to close the historic entrances simply because they were not barrier-free, forcing all visitors to detour through the courtyard? Should the façade, instead of being painted a uniform beige, have reflected its original polychromy—even if the exact colors could no longer be identified? In light of the overall success, these are minor issues at most. A successful restoration of a difficult monument, this project has set new benchmarks.
[ Pestalozzi Primary school, Middle School, and Polytechnic School, Leoben ] Architecture and participatory process facilitation in “cononymous authorship”: Forschungsplattform schulRAUMkultur (Michael Zinner) und Büro nonconform. Client: Stadtgemeinde Leoben. Structural engineering: DI Michael Judmayer ZT GmbH. Procurement procedure: Direct commission. Planning and construction period: 2013–2016. Usable floor area: 7 164 m². Address: Kerpelystraße 13, 8700 Leoben, Styria.