Schule Schendlingen Bregenz
Shaped by an expanded understanding of education, this school is much more than just a learning space. In a sometimes harsh environment, it is a place of residence and leisure, a place of work and a social home, committed to consistently realizing its principle of equal opportunity.
Replacing a nondescript 1970s primary school, a memorable new school campus for primary and middle school students has been built in Bregenz’s Rieden-Vorkloster district. The compact building forms a neighborhood center in the midst of heterogeneous housing developments. Its placement on the site allows public space to literally flow into the building at two points, creating versatile outdoor plazas. The exposed concrete building deliberately conveys stability—a vital message in this socially vulnerable area on the city’s edge.
The spatial organization was developed in close collaboration between educators and architects, based on the fundamental decision to spatially interlink the primary and secondary schools. The different age groups meet throughout the building, using the specialized classrooms, the multifunctional hallway areas, and the lunch break area together. Meals are shared in the ground-floor foyer, which doubles as the light-filled heart of the school, forming a central circulation hub. This interconnectedness helps cultivate shared values, reinforcing a central tenet of the educational concept.
The administration, library, and public music school are located on the ground floor. The two floors above are home to the subject rooms and eight clusters—referred to here as “Houses.” The school has an intentionally flat hierarchy that allows each House to operate with a high degree of autonomy. Three classrooms are grouped around a shared central space with an adjoining outdoor terrace, forming independent units of about 70 students and a teaching team.
Not only are the cloakroom and sanitary facilities located directly in each House, there are also teacher offices with glass walls all around, which replace the traditional conference rooms. This simple yet effective move supports team teaching, lowers communication barriers with students, and makes it clear: Here, support persons are open and approachable at all times.
Children stay in the home-like environment of a House for four years, experiencing belonging, mutual respect, and functioning neighborhood relationships. The compactness of space reinforces this sense of community, while the transparency enables layered interaction. The result is not isolation, but a carefully balanced interplay of retreat and exchange. This is achieved through generous spaces, clever zoning, and well-placed atria, alongside design elements such as acoustic ceilings made from specially developed light-gray felt slats that define the common areas. High-quality, untreated materials further strengthen the atmosphere, including silver fir, ash, and exceptionally refined exposed concrete. Given its social context, this building assumes responsibilities that go far beyond those of a conventional school. It is, in essence, a hybrid of school, residential, and office building—an architectural and pedagogical model project for the region of Vorarlberg.
[ Schendlingen Primary School, Middle School, and Sports Middle School, Bregenz ] Architecture: Architekt Matthias Bär ZT GmbH, Architekt Bernd Riegger ZT GmbH, Querformat ZT GmbH. Design: Architekt Matthias Bär ZT GmbH. Client: Landeshauptstadt Bregenz. Structural engineering: DI Manfred Plankel. Building art: Marbod Fritsch. Educational consulting: Otto Seydel. Procurement procedure: Restricted, single-stage design competition with implementation (above EU threshold). Planning and construction period: 2014–2017. Usable floor area: 6 920 m² (new building) + approx. 2 490 m² (existing gymnasium). Address: Wuhrwaldstraße 26, 6800 Bregenz, Vorarlberg.