The recently completed canteen of the Ernst-Barlach-Gymnasium in Kiel’s Projensdorf district forms a kind of gatehouse for the school grounds and opens up to a permeable, high-quality communal courtyard that optimally combines new and old. The material and color of the cafeteria building sets it apart from the aging existing buildings and yet integrates it into the existing building structure. CONSENS Bautechnik GmbH contributed the most striking part of the new cafeteria building with the curtain-type, rear-ventilated facades made of fiber cement and bronze-colored metal.
The bronze-colored parts of the facade cladding were deliberately chosen by the architects Dohse und Partner from Hamburg in reference to Ernst Barlach’s bronzes in order to create a link to the school’s namesake. The light-colored facade surfaces contrast with this in terms of material and color. They consist of 12 mm-thick, ball-impact resistant fiber cement panels that reference the existing building fabric and are combined with large, transparent facade areas made of mullion-transom facades. The diagonal and non-perpendicular joint pattern of the facade, particularly in the metal facades, refers to the folding of many of Barlach’s sculptures. The deliberate integration of the new building into the old trees on the school grounds results in natural shading of the large glass surfaces and harmonious integration into the existing school complex. With this new building, the City of Kiel, as the client, has set a visible example of modern school building policy.
