Learning in the park Outdoor facilities of the Martin-Luther-King comprehensive school in Marl

The Martin Luther King School in Marl is a comprehensive school for grades 5 to 10. A new building for grades 9 to 10 made it necessary to reorganize the outdoor grounds.

The existing schoolyard has the appearance of a park. The large meadow areas with old trees are used by residents of the surrounding neighborhoods as a public green space. This great strength was used and further developed. In the course of the funding program "Social City", a versatile usable outdoor area was created, which also integrates the neighboring youth cultural center.

The concept picks up the large green spaces, the beautiful tree population and the

existing topography of the school grounds. The various directions and spatial edges resulting from the buildings and pathways are complemented by another direction resulting from the adjacent path system. This direction establishes a direct path connection from Ricarda-Huch-Straße to the existing centrally located "Hofblick". The central crossroads thus takes on the function of a joint that accommodates and distributes all path directions.

The slope from the courtyard view to the lawn area was terraced and supplemented with concrete blocks. A multi-purpose area (13m x2 0m) with synthetic surfacing has been added to the lawn area. It offers

the possibility of different uses: Basketball, football, events and stage.
Between the staircase ramp and the building of grade 8, an extensive perennial mixed planting was created to fortify the slope and bring a colorful aspect to the school grounds. The planting was implemented with the active help of the students. It is designed to offer interesting aspects at any time of the year. Once a year, in late winter, it is cut back over a wide area.

Overall, the newly arranged outdoor facilities offer a clearer picture with differentiated sub-areas and interesting possibilities for use.