the school complex “bundesschulzentrum krems” , consisting of the hotel management school with its own school hotel (“europaschule krems”) and the federal business academy/business school krems, was built in the 1970s in the functionalist-modern style of the time.
large shortfalls in space led in 2001 to an eu-wide open two-stage competition.
the jury recommended splitting the commission into two parts: adding storeys to the classroom wings, and building the new break hall with an extension of the gym area. caramel was commissioned as general planner for the break hall and the gym.
project description:
replacing the structure of two gyms arranged side by side lengthwise over 46 metres and extending them into a fully usable triple gym demanded considerable engineering skill from the structural engineers. it was achieved with a prestressed reinforced-concrete beam only 1.8 m deep, which takes the loads of both the existing halls and the new extension.
to fit the tight budget on the one hand and clearly articulate the new part as such on the other, the extension was built as a lightweight structure with a high degree of prefabrication. reinforced-concrete ribs only 16 cm slim carry prefabricated timber panels; standard plastic rooflights in a seemingly irregular arrangement provide daylight and views.
like a bulge in the ground, the extension develops as a shell; there is no distinction between roof and wall; the two end walls, fully glazed, remain more or less open. next to the gym is the new break hall, visually connected to it by a delicate all-glass construction.
