Wiesbaden-Middle School
Wiesbaden Middle School
21st Century Schools in Germany
The Middle School in Wiesbaden was designed using the DoDEA 21st Century Facility Specifications and was the first school in Europe to be completed using this concept. The three class wings are two stories each and have six neighborhoods. Each neighborhood is divided into a variety of learning areas such as learning studios/classrooms, laboratories and group rooms with associated infrastructure rooms. These and their centers can be spatially linked with one other, based on the type of class and its present requirement.
The core or heart of the school is the multipurpose room, designed as a two-story hall with galleries on the sides, and is located in the physical center of the building. Since the Middle School is a full-time school, the multipurpose room functions both as a cafeteria for lunch, with an adjacent kitchen and server, and as a commons area at the beginning and end of each day for socializing and circulating. The school also has additional rooms for general use and a information center, which is situated on the upper level. Mechanical rooms are located in the basement.
The entrance to Wiesbaden Middle is punctuated by a glass and dark metal portico that protrudes from the building, offering a canopy for inclement weather.
The exterior of the school is a muted grey tone that offers a calming serenity. The two-tone detailing around the windows provide even more dimension using simple shapes to give the visual queue of being recessed.
The outdoor amphitheater is adjacent to the music room. This adjacency and the large opening wall of the music room for outdoor concerts performed directly from the music room.
The outdoor spaces surrounding the school encourage additional opportunities for learning, reflection, and activity.
Partial courtyards between the wings of the school (left) provide natural light into the school as well as opportunities for outdoor learning that are close to and easily accessed from the learning neighborhoods within the school.
The two-story entrance to the school (below left) is branded with the school logo and adjoins a flexible multipurpose room/commons room (below right) that can be easily converted from commons to cafeteria and back to commons during the school day. The commons also functions as the heart of the school and connects the various wings and functions of the school in a central hub.
The commons (left) has clerestory windows which let light in from the perimeter near the ceiling. It also has views to and from the information center/library on the second flood so students and staff can better understand the relationship and interplay between spaces.
The commons also has a large wood moveable wall that can be opened to the performance space (below). When opened, this allows the performance space to accommodate larger events with more seating. Or it allows for additional space to the commons, offering more versatility for events and social gatherings.
The neighborhoods (left and below) are centered around a large learning hub. There are glass moveable partitions between the learning studios/classrooms and the hub. And solid moveable partitions separate paired learning studios. All of these spaces can be opened to or closed off from each other to allow for maximum adaptability and flexibility based upon the curricular need.
In addition to the hub and studios, there is a large group room and a one-to-one room that allow for smaller student break out spaces. There is also a teacher collaboration space where teachers have a desk, storage, a conference table and plenty of wall surfaces and technology to prepare for teaching.
The gymnasium at Wiesbaden Middle is a stunning space, clad with wood and bathed in natural light. It is a beautiful place for exercising.
The gym opens to the outside with large clerestory windows and glass double doors to the outdoor play spaces and plazas. Acoustics are controlled using perforated large acoustic wall panels as well as wood wall panels with sound absorption fabric underneath.
