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Just For Kids

Adults are a rare commodity at the Haus der Schüler. And just as unusual is its mission.

Craig Kellogg -- Interior Design, 5/1/2011 2:14:00 PM

Just for Kids

firm: heinisch lembach huber architekten

site: tuttlingen, germany

Adults are a rare commodity at the Haus der Schüler. And just as unusual is its mission. The 16,000-square-foot building gives schoolchildren age 9 to 19 a place to spend time creatively between classes-and campuses. Two schools in the southern German town of Tuttlingen share this student center, one of the few that's both freestanding and purpose-built. As Marcus Lembach of Heinisch Lembach Huber Architekten explains, "It's a building that cannot be used for lessons."

Visually, Lembach adds, he, Wallie Heinisch, and Marcus Huber imagined "a spaceship landing beside the sports field." Front and rear roof overhangs shelter no-frills chipboard panels against rain and ice. Helping to support the overhangs are two runs of zigzagging spruce columns. They simultaneously provide a framework for perforated white powder-coated aluminum panels to weave in and out of, screening the sun's strongest rays.

As the student center's first academic year comes to a close, Lembach marvels that the interiors remain remarkably graffiti-free. "The kids respect them," he says. A central courtyard splits both levels. One side of the downstairs is dominated by a café-students, not grown-ups, are the ones serving up the cake and milk here. "The older kids typically keep an eye on the younger ones," he offers. A computer lab and a wood shop occupy the other side of the downstairs. Above are a theater, a game room for billiards and foosball, a communal study hall, monastic private carrels, and a cushion-filled relaxation room that has hosted its share of pillow fights. In a quieter mood, the relaxation room is also the place for that high-school staple, free-period shut-eye.

Photography by Zooey Braun.

FROM FRONT bruag: siding (exterior). seeger architektonisches licht: pendant fixtures (hall). columbus weberei breuer: custom curtains (café). kleinkopf stahlrohrmöbel: chairs. remi: tables. artenia licht-und möbeldesign: pendant fixtures. fatboy: beanbags (computer lab). THROUGHOUT seufert-niklaus: custom windows. breinlinger ingenieure: structural, civil engineer. schnell ingenieure: electrical engineer. kaufer + passer: mep. müller blaustein; matthias weber: woodwork. chini: concrete contractor.