gernot schulz : architektur utilized a minimal, yet bright and cohesive design between the four buildings of the BAN Educational Landscape in Cologne, Germany.

The basic idea of the Bildungslandschaft was to combine and expand an existing choice of schools with various facilities for children and adolescents so that a complete “education chain” for all age groups can be provided at a central city location.

Four buildings represent the core of the BAN. Their ground plans are all developed from variations of differently sized pentagons. The flat-roofed, reinforced concrete volumes are clad in grey brick. Two window formats are used as identical design elements in all buildings to create a lively play on the façades with various views in and out.

Prior to the competition, the City of Cologne and the Montag Foundations jointly established a participation concept, which brought together steering groups comprising representatives of the users and the administration and thus involved them in the overall planning of the project. After the competition, we architects expanded, designed and implemented this participation concept through all HOAI service phases. This enabled cooperation between the individual facilities to make all parts of the Bildungslandschaft usable together. The facilities include the Fröbel daycare centre, the Freinet Primary School, the Realschule am Rhein, the Hansa Gymnasium, the Abendgymnasium, the Tower youth centre of the Katholische Studierende Jugend and the Klüngelpütz recreational facility.

Design: gernot schulz : architektur
Photography: Stefan Schilling Fotografie