Schulzentrum Gloggnitz
A pedagogical approach aimed at fostering communication across different school types—and expressing this intention architecturally—is combined here with a structural concept that uses modern technical possibilities to their utmost. Such tremendous ambition comes at a price.
The former industrial town of Gloggnitz, located 80 kilometers southwest of Vienna, has experienced two contradictory developments over the past 50 years. On one hand, it is transforming into an economically vibrant regional center, and on the other, its population declined from 7 100 in 1971 to 5 800 in 2021. To counteract this trend, the municipality decided to consolidate its four previously separate schools (primary school, middle school, polytechnic school, and special education center) into a single new building. In 2015, it announced an architecture competition; 41 firms replied to the ambitious brief, 8 of which were invited to participate. Competitors could choose whether to retain parts of the existing buildings or design an entirely new structure, though the latter would require the clearing of mature trees.
The winning project opted decisively for a new build. The jury spoke of a “school on the move,” and indeed the building looks like a large, timber-clad box lifting up from the ground. This impression is created by a recessed, fully glazed ground floor. The box projects most prominently on the main entrance elevation, forming a spacious, sheltered vestibule. The ground floor accommodates cloakrooms and specialized classrooms, while the gymnasium and a smaller gymnastics room are located in the sunken entrance hall. A steel framework spans this area without supports, freeing the ground floor of columns. The classrooms of all four schools and their associated open learning zones are situated on the first upper floor, while the administrative offices and staff areas occupy the second floor.
Typologically, the school is an innovation. It adopts the concept of a Hallenschule at the entrance and sports-hall level, but combines it with a courtyard type on the upper floors. Here, the central hall gives way to an inner courtyard, in which box-like roof structures provide daylight for the hall below. The open learning zones face onto this courtyard, enabling a ring-shaped internal circulation around the classroom level that makes communication between all schools possible, as was desired in the pedagogical concept for the school center.
The building also makes full use of modern-day structural possibilities. The materials wood, reinforced concrete, and steel are employed according to their specific structural roles and deliberately left visible. Cross-laminated timber plays a key part and is used for non-load-bearing walls and ceilings. Wood also defines the spatial character of the classroom levels and the appearance of the façades. Structurally, the building is already prepared for the addition of another floor.
It is clear that such an ambitious project comes at a price and has sparked debate within the community. Did the architects create a monument to themselves at public expense? The directors disagree, saying that it is a building where one really does experience “school on the move.” The investment, they argue, is sound—above all, as an investment in the future.
[ Primary School, Special Education School, Middle School, and Polytechnic School, Gloggnitz ] Architecture: DFA | Dietmar Feichtinger Architects. Client: Stadt Gloggnitz. Structural engineering: Werkraum Ingenieure ZT GmbH. Procurement procedure: Closed, two‑stage design competition with implementation (above EU threshold). Planning and construction period: 2015–2019. Usable floor area: 8 594 m². Address: Richtergasse 6, 2640 Gloggnitz, Lower Austria.