Bildungscampus Moosburg
The starting point was a vision: making education the driving force of municipal development. An exemplary participatory process and a master plan for the campus soon followed. Today, seven educational institutions form a cooperative network here.
The municipality of Moosburg has around 5 000 inhabitants and is located in the central region of Carinthia. It has been participating in the “family-friendly community” program since 2003 and has already received several awards. It is home to seven educational institutions run by different organizations: 600 children between the ages of 1 and 14 are taught, guided, and cared for by over 70 educators in a daycare center, kindergarten, special needs kindergarten, two primary schools, middle school, after-school center, and music school.
A shortage of available childcare led to an expansion of the kindergarten, which became the 2008 catalyst for the development of a campus. An interdisciplinary core team of educators, municipal representatives, and parents initially developed ten guiding principles and measures, with implementation overseen by a campus coordinator. The timber kindergarten extension increased capacity from 85 to 220 children, marking the first step toward the Moosburg Education Campus.
In 2012, as part of a broad participatory process involving many community stakeholders, ideas were gathered for a new campus center and the further development of the school environment, following which a master plan was drawn up. Based on this, an open architecture competition was held for the renovation and adaptation of the primary school and the construction of a central building for a cafeteria and gymnasium. Replacing the old gymnasium, a new two-story volume now forms a link between the primary and middle schools, housing a divisible triple sports hall with spectator gallery and ancillary spaces, as well as the cafeteria. Embedded into the terrain, the new building levels out the height differences between the existing structures and connects to each school at its narrow side. Access to the sports hall is provided from the middle school directly via the spectator stands, and from the primary school through the cafeteria. Circulation spaces are thus transformed into social areas and used in multiple ways. Separate entrances allow for external uses. The combination of sports hall, spectator stands, and cafeteria creates flexible, multifunctional spaces for events shared by all educational institutions, local associations, and the wider community.
[ Moosburg Daycare Center, Primary School, and Middle School ] Architecture: nonconform zt gmbh (daycare and after-school center addition); Urmann Radler ZT GmbH (primary school, cafeteria/events hall, and gymnasium renovation). Client: Marktgemeinde Moosburg Betriebs- und Beteiligungs-GmbH. Commissioned by: Marktgemeinde Moosburg, Schulgemeindeverband Klagenfurt Land. Structural engineering: DI Kurt Pock ZT GmbH (kindergarten and after-school center), Freller ZT GmbH (primary school and gymnasium renovation). Participatory process facilitation: nonconform ideenwerkstatt, schulRAUMkultur/Kunstuniversität Linz, Trigon Entwicklungsberatung. Procurement procedure: Direct contract (daycare and after-school center expansion); open, single-stage competition with implementation (below EU threshold) (primary school, cafeteria/events hall, and gymnasium renovation). Planning and construction period: 2008–2010 (daycare and after-school center addition), 2018–2022 (primary school, cafeteria/events hall, and gymnasium renovation). Usable floor area: 660 m² (daycare and after-school center), 1 200 m² (primary school and gymnasium). Address: Pestalozzistraße 4, 9062 Moosburg, Carinthia.