LETH & GORI was recently awarded the third prize in the open international competition with their proposal for an extension to Music Gymnasium Salzburg. Their design creates a new extension to the school without stealing space or light from the existing densely built site which is done by digging out the northern part of the site and inserting the extension as a one storey building with courtyards and skylights. Furthermore, the roof of the building becomes a new playful urban landscape for the students. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The starting point of the design was to identify the main values and spatial qualities of the existing school and maintain and utilize these in the new project. One of the keys in this process was to design a new spatial infrastructure of the school complex that creates connections between the various learning environments within the building.
This was solved by creating a network of common spaces and assigning these spaces with different spacial qualities to serve various functionalities. This common space becomes the interdisciplinary social place in the school and also the connection between the new and old buildings. In this way the project is not just an extension to the complex but a transformation of the entire school that utilizes existing qualities and creates a new ones.
Architects: LETH & GORI Location: Salzburg, Austria Team: Karsten Gori, Uffe Leth, Annelie Asam, Arnaud Grenie and Sebastian Andersen Consultant: Tom Hay Client: Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft m.b.H. Program: Extension and transformation with common spaces, classrooms, dance hall and urban spaces Type: Open international competition Status: 3rd Prize in open competition Area: New building: 1.250m2 Budget: 5 mio. EUR Year: 2012
