A flawless gym is the central point around which the rest of the programme of this fantatic school is organised. Designed by Berrel Berrel Kräutler Architects, it is located in Vouvry, a small district at the foot of the Swiss Alps better known in this area as the Valais Alps.

A vertically oriented entrance hall invites visitors into this new school in Vouvry by Swiss architecture practice Berrel Berrel Kräutler AG. The folded facade disrupts what would have been an overly massive, blocky outline, and provides a welcome contrast to the dominant pattern of rigid elements.

The heart of the new building is a white, triple gym ringed by an efficiently organized outer layer of cafeterias and changing rooms. Sunlight streaming through the skylights reflects off the walls to brighten the surrounding corridors and meeting areas, in which dark red colour is used in order to suggest serenity and intimacy in contrast to the dynamic central space.

Description of project by Berrel Berrel Kräutler AG

The Wallisian Alps rise in silhouette above the new Vouvry district schoolhouse, which lies on a flat plain between historic Vouvry village and the Rhone river. Larger-than-life commercial structures have long defined the character of settlements along the Rhone valley, and this new construction – which accommodates both classrooms and a sports arena under one roof – fits the mold perfectly. The uniform structure is coated in a fine layer of copper and brass that mirrors the surrounding greenery in softened and muted tones.

The traditionally constructed, folded facade was surely chosen to disrupt what would have been an overly massive, blocky outline, and provides a welcome contrast to the dominant pattern of rigid elements. Both upper stories are unified in a seamless façade of glazed windows, with the floor plan offset inward at a shallow angle. The vertically oriented entrance hall is set back slightly from the wall of windows, which floods the area with light and makes an inviting impression on visitors.

The cantilevered upper stories overhang the common area by eight meters, providing a covered meeting and living space. There are two main entrances on the first floor, located cater-corner on the east- and west-facing walls. The heart of the new building is the triple gym, which is ringed by an efficiently organized outer layer of cafeterias and changing rooms.

Two cascading staircases spiral upward toward the classrooms and instructional spaces on the upper stories, which are laid out like the spokes of a windmill. This is a place where people enjoy spending time; where break rooms abound, and every hallway leads to an outside view. The open floor plan not only provides a pleasant environment but also harmonizes well with the spirit and principal function of the building. Sightlines across the daylight flooded central hall and between the floors draw disparate design elements together into a coherent whole.

The design of the functional layers, clearly evident in the floor plan, is expressed spatially through careful material and colour design. Meeting and boundary areas are predominantly dark red, intended to suggest serenity and intimacy. The walls and floors of the classrooms use light and open colours. White is reserved for the centrally embedded gym, where sunlight streaming through the skylights reflects off the walls to brighten the surrounding corridors.

The gym and classrooms had to be lined with special acoustic panels so that both functions could coexist without conflict. The structural design concept is based on a superstructure. The regularly spaced classroom walls on the second floor form a rigid system with their associated floor and ceiling layers. The radial tensile and compressive strain within the ceilings flows around the open gym area in the centre of the building to form a structure-wide tension and compression ring. Reinforced steel cables serve to minimize deformation in high tension zones.

The cantilevered design, in which the second floor is suspended from the layers above, permits great flexibility in designing functional spaces without walls or support columns.

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Architects
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Berrel Berrel Kräutler AG.
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Collaborators
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Structure.- ESM Group/ Ulaga Partner.
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Promoter
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Groupement régional du CO du Haut-Lac.
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Area
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Area/volume.- 9.400 m² /52.000 m³.
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Dates
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2010-13.
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Budget
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CHF 26,700,000.
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Location
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Vouvry, Switzerland.
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Photography
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Eik Frenzel.
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Berrel Berrel Kräutler AG was created in January 2009 by architects Jürg Berrel, Maurice Berrel and Raphael Kräutler, after the merging of Berrel Architekten, based in Basel, and Berrel Kräutler Architekten, based in Zürich. This association resulted in a cross-generational and dynamic architectural practice with successful projects both nationally and internationally. They develop individual solutions as a team and always seek close collaboration with specialist planners, engineers, graphic designers and artists. Their architecture reflects a systematic analysis of the project, the site and the clients' needs at an aesthetic, cultural, functional, economic and environmental level.

Their activity includes a wide spectrum of town planning and development, office and school buildings and residential and cultural projects as well as small-scale and temporary structures. Thanks to their team of architects, project managers and draftsmen, they are able to deal independently with almost every project.

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