Coupling: a piece to link things together ‘t Regenboogje primary school in Etterbeek is a small-scale school project by noA architects. Four infant classrooms and a new multipurpose hall have replaced the containers that were installed to meet the need for extra capacity, but which had stayed on the premises for far too long. At first glance, it would appear that the classrooms have been scattered around the site by a petulant child, but on closer inspection they turn out to be very carefully positioned. The architecture is tailor-made in every respect. This is evidenced by the way in which the bricks are amassed in the corners, the sloping roof structure that lends the interior its character, and the façades that are adorned with visible lintels. Because the latter are positioned in the angle of the surrounding garden walls, the classroom buildings not only delineate a sharply articulated interior space, but also subdivide the school site. A gradated collection of places is formed: play areas in which the paving slabs are laid in a chessboard pattern that challenges the children to let themselves go, a garden area with vegetable tubs and a climbing tree, a narrow alley that encourages the children to start exploring, as well as other, more concealed, indoor and outdoor spaces. Large expanses of glass in the classrooms and the hall open onto the play areas, thus providing a view of the chaotic urban landscape that encircles the school. At the same time, the architecture imposes order upon the surroundings and creates a settled environment for the school community.
A long wall marks the school’s boundary — it breaks the vertical sequence of conventional façades and also guards the entrance. Under the saw-tooth roof, a passage leads to the quiet area in the middle of the street block where the infant school is located. The tiled wall of the school hides the multipurpose hall, which means that the latter does not appear on the street, as such. This tiled wall can thus be seen as an interface, a fault line between two worlds. The word ‘school’ is written above in big block capitals, but even without this, it is clear that a completely different milieu exists on the other side. When one looks through the gate or the low-level peepholes, the safe children’s world — which has already been announced by the colourful pattern — is fully revealed. It is through the use of these coloured tiles that the wall addresses the passers-by in the street and holds up a mirror to the city.
This text is based on an article by Marten Van Den Driessche, published in Flanders Architectural Review N°12: Tailored Architecture.
