Schule Allmend Zürich

“Grown-ups love numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask you about the essential things. They never ask: What does his voice sound like? What games does he like best? Does he collect butterflies? Instead, they ask: How old is he? How many brothers does he have? How much does he weigh? How much does his father earn? Only then do they think they know him.”
(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince)

PILA describes the school as the sum of individual parts that come together with great flexibility into a coherent whole. The architecture weaves structure into unity, establishing an inner order that balances flexibility and variability with the fundamental needs of teaching and daily school life.

The building volume is inscribed into the “Manegg Lens” structure, carefully negotiating its planned surroundings. The design responds both to the urban, suburban infrastructures—its alignments and resulting street spaces—and to the pedestrian scale of the new Manegg Square. The school blends into the neighborhood, unassuming, almost self-evident.

The new school is deliberately aligned within the sequence of surrounding buildings. The volume processes exterior and context, while establishing its own clear geometry. Toward the railway, the articulation mediates gently between the southern building alignments and the northern complex. The horizontal stratification of the west façade speaks of and to the “fast, moving world”—traffic, roads, rail. The stepped façade height reflects the dynamics of the surroundings while reducing the footprint, freeing space for a generous public outdoor area.

On the Manegg Square, the school presents a clarified geometry. The distinct head building conveys calm and a sense of public presence. Entrances are clearly legible here, guiding students into the school. A slightly elevated, offset outdoor courtyard provides both playground and visual connection into the side lane.

In its scale and structure, the volume seeks not only urban legibility but also proximity to the children themselves, who occupy classrooms of differing sizes. A system of varied in-between spaces—covered, open, sheltered—invites playful, imaginative, and flexible use in daily school life. PILA becomes the foundation for future pedagogical and architectural adaptation.

Access is organized from the elevated courtyard. Three clusters are stacked vertically, each with its own covered outdoor space. Specialist classrooms are positioned opposite the clusters on two levels. The facility is designed to be age-appropriate for pupils while also offering an attractive working environment for teachers. Faculty rooms are housed in the head building. Above them, with its own independent access, lies the kindergarten, benefiting from a rooftop terrace that provides a secure, child-friendly outdoor space with optimal oversight.

At roof level, an all-weather sports court is planned. Shaded by a steel structure with integrated photovoltaics, it serves both the school and the neighborhood. A direct, public vertical circulation links this space with street level, integrating it into the urban fabric.

Beneath the elevated courtyard at the main entrance, a single gymnasium is located. This space is lit from above by skylights and naturally ventilated through lateral strip windows, enabling ideal cross-ventilation.

The sports facilities in the basement, the rooftop court, the classrooms, the teacher’s tract, and the kindergarten are each independently accessed via generous vertical connections, ensuring smooth operation of simultaneous and parallel activities. Public functions on the ground floor—canteen and hall—are directly accessible from Manegg Square, allowing for independent use beyond the school’s daily routines.

The economy of means is kept high, and the grey energy footprint low. The result is a childlike, inspiring environment supported by an efficient infrastructure: a school that is both deeply rooted in its neighborhood and open to the world of children’s curiosity.

Client: Stadt Zürich

Planning: Rossetti+Wyss Architekten, Zschokke & Gloor Landschaftsarchitekten