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Brussels, Belgium

Most things look better when you put them in a circle. This was the starting point in designing the new primary school Merlijn in the Belgian city of Tongeren. The result is a volumetry which matches the experience of a child that grows from toddler to young adult.

Pavilion in a park
The new primary school Merlijn, located on a green plot in Tongeren, is characterized by the presence of various free-standing volumes. The school is both functionally as formally an important link to the existing communal facilities around it (daycare, academy, sports infrastructure, etc.). With its central position the building plays a key role while its round shape references a pavilion in the park. It organizes, conducts and shapes the outdoor space without privatizing or occupying it.

From shelter into the wide world
The specific volumetry of the building is the result of spatially organizing the experience of a child growing from toddler to young adult – two phases in life that demand a different approach. Although the school building is conceived as a whole, two zones can be perceived. Firstly, an embracing, enclosed and protective zone is created for the toddlers surrounded by classrooms. As they move on to primary school, they arrive in a more formal and rectangular volume that directs them to the wide world they soon will discover. The appearance makes the school blend with its surroundings. The organic low ring is the heart of the new green campus, while the volume of the primary school with its two floors relates to the surrounding existing buildings.

Raising awareness from childhood onwards
It is proven that children who are in touch with nature find more ease and can concentrate better because of the limited amount of external triggers. This school shapes an environment both on a macro-scale (the campus) as on a micro-scale by maximizing contact with its context.

The school is constructed out of sustainable materials and also contains sustainable techniques. Ecology is the starting point, the way there is dealt with energy sensitizes the children from childhood on. This way they learn to take responsibility for their surroundings and are conscious of the importance of a healthy environment.