Schulhaus Staffeln Luzern

The project Mikado seeks, alongside its prescribed educational use, to create spaces for the senses—for sound, touch, and perception. School is understood as a place of thought, of curiosity and questioning, where children explore. It is composed of individual parts that join with great flexibility into a coherent whole. Embedded in a lowered green lens, the buildings appear unobtrusive and natural, while their grain establishes child-scaled dimensions. This gives the campus a clear geometry that respects the landscape and leaves it in its original state. Differentiated indoor and outdoor spaces, both open and sheltered, invite playful interaction throughout the school day.

The campus is organized by its own circulation system, leading children from the public entrance to semi-private and private zones. An outer circulation spine connects the central functions and opens into the generous courtyard, the beating heart of the school. From here, classrooms, subject rooms, auditorium, library, and sports facilities are accessed. Outdoor spaces are designed in a natural way, enabling varied use beyond school hours. Mikado is structured into three main elements: the elongated main tract with public functions, the compact two-story classroom clusters, and the gymnasium with kindergartens to the east.

The structure consists of a simple, repetitive timber-concrete composite system using prefabricated beechwood elements. These remain visible inside and out, shaping the architectural expression. The façades follow the structural grid, so the raw construction already defines much of the final appearance. Wooden surfaces convey warmth and naturalness, while the radiation-open system ensures a balanced indoor climate. The minimized basement responds to geological conditions, avoiding costly excavation reinforcements. Drainage secures permeability against groundwater, and waterproofing is reduced to a minimum.

The classroom clusters are integrated into two-story wings. Each cluster includes classrooms, group rooms, a shared central space, and its own outdoor area. Flexible, movable partitions allow rooms to be interconnected and enable varied teaching methods. Outdoor spaces to the south provide sun, rain, and visual protection, becoming integral parts of daily learning. They can serve as stage, reading garden, or experimental area. In poor weather, the large roof overhangs take on this role. The result is a lively continuum of indoor and outdoor spaces, with shifting degrees of openness.

The energy concept relies on compact form, clear service routing, and short distribution paths. Fixed glazing with narrow ventilation flaps enables efficient cross-ventilation; circulation zones function as buffer spaces; and a comfort ventilation system with heat recovery reduces energy demand. Roof surfaces are used for solar energy and rainwater harvesting, conceived as a fifth façade.

Materiality follows the principle of rawness and durability. Concrete, wood, and natural stone are left exposed to age into a patina that lends dignity over time. Cast asphalt with granite aggregate and micro-perforated wood ceilings ensure robustness, good acoustics, and minimal maintenance costs. Color is used sparingly, primarily for orientation and wayfinding.

The outdoor areas adopt the idea of a green corridor connecting the neighborhood. Open playfields, movement zones, and courtyard-like spaces provide room for breaks, sports, and gardens. They remain accessible to the community outside school hours, making the school part of a porous landscape framework that binds education, community, and nature together.

Mikado is thus more than a school building: it is a child-oriented, inspiring, and sustainable environment, shaped in scale, structure, and material by the needs of its users, while embodying a contemporary vision of what a school for the future can be.

Client: Stadt Luzern

Planning: Rossetti+Wyss Architekten, Zschokke & Gloor Landschaftsarchitekten