Friedrich-Engels-Gymnasium, Berlin-Reinickendorf Extension and schoolyard design

The open school spaces of the Friedrich-Engels-Gymnasium were re-arranged on the occasion of the construction of an extension: The construction of the school canteen and additional classrooms and specialist rooms made it necessary to integrate them into the school campus consisting of an old building from the Gründerzeit and an extension from the 1970s. By unsealing the schoolyard and creating generous planting areas, the outdoor facilities were modernized and the "school address" of the property was emphasized. Bicycle parking spaces were created for the more than 1,300 pupils as well as numerous recreational and play areas. Drainage areas were created for the infiltration of the extension and the paved surfaces, a central garbage location was set up and the old and extension buildings were connected to make them accessible for the disabled.



Friedrich-Engels-Gymnasium in Berlin Reinickendorf is a five-form all-day grammar school with around 1,300 pupils and a German-Spanish bilingual stream. It is located between Emmentaler Straße to the south, Genfer Straße to the west and Thurgauer Straße to the east. To the north is an extensive sports complex. Opposite Genfer Strasse is the "White City", a housing estate from the 1920s, which is recognized as a World Heritage Site along with other modernist housing estates in Berlin.



On the site there is a school building from the Wilhelminian era with an entrance building on Thurgauer Strasse from the 1970s, which was extended as part of the second economic stimulus package with an extension by the architects huber und staudt, Berlin. The extension, which accommodated the school canteen as well as additional classrooms and specialist rooms, made it necessary to adapt the schoolyard, such as the demolition and relocation of a football pitch and the design of the immediate surroundings of the extension.



Parallel to the measures of the KP II project, a target concept was created for the entire schoolyard of the Friedrich-Engels-Gymnasium. The content of this concept was the presentation of the space requirements for the schoolyard due to increasing student numbers, the consolidation of stationary traffic, in particular by rearranging the bicycle parking facilities on a parking lot that was no longer needed, as well as the creation of play and recreation areas. In addition, infiltration areas, a concentrated waste area for the previously free-standing waste containers and the unsealing of the almost completely asphalted schoolyard were planned. The aim was to improve the visibility of the extension building from Thurgauer Straße, which was barely recognizable due to tree growth and disorderly planting areas, and thus strengthen the "school address" on Thurgauer Straße.



In the course of two further construction phases, a larger, but also greener, courtyard was created with a variety of places to spend time. Differentiated seating, such as specially designed wooden furniture, was created. The transition to the 1970s building was upgraded for disabled access and the existing planting steps of the extension were transformed into an "amphitheater" with seating steps for outdoor lessons. Generous planting islands, integrating the valuable tree population, now structure the formerly sealed courtyard and have created seasonal flowering aspects.



The structural development of the school site that began with the extension has been brought to a provisional conclusion!