School in a Garden

Sitting within the open polder landscapes of west Groningen, School and a Garden is a collaboration between Studio Nauta and Studio Ard Hoksbergen for a large new primary school child daycare centre. Tasked with creating a pioneer, the school will be the first building, with a village planned to grow around it over the coming 20 years. Drawing upon local traditions of teaching beyond the classroom, each classroom is directly connected to the outside, with decks, colonnades, and circles of greenery creating layers of spaces for children to gather, learn and play in. Classrooms are organised around a central atrium in a staggered pattern, creating inbetween spaces both inside and out, with generous openings filling the school with light.