Rocha Tombal Architects

Primary School . The Hague

Rocha Tombal Architects . + archdaily

Like a mother, the school offers a feeling of security and adventure: with its friendly face and an attractive identity, this “colourful animal” will improve the atmosphere of the square, where now a 6 meter high steel electricity-house plays the main role.

The new school will be situated in relation to the electricity-house, in a way that together, these two buildings will define a new safe and inviting playground.
Because of the sun-orientation, the presence of the electricity-house, and the need of concentration in the class-rooms, those are all turned to the new back garden. To avoid a non-communicative image, a few big windows were created on strategic places in the front façade: the “eyes” of the animal. Those correspond to the common areas of the school, like the entrance and the play area, which as gigantic show cases, seem to expose the inside life. The façade material is a red colour rubber, soft and recognisable, which accentuates the playful form of the building.

Architects: Rocha Tombal Architects – Ana Rocha, Michel Tombal
Collaborators: Iwona Wozniakowska, Elena Cabrera Vacas
Igor Lopez de Uralde, Volker Goldstein, Enrique Otero Neira, Bettina Herb, Enrique Abad Monllor