Projects

When we joined the Nussmüller architectural firm in the mid-1990s, our work focused primarily on educational buildings. This period produced outstanding, award-winning structures such as the Wildon Elementary School, the Karl Morre School in Graz, and the Civil Engineering Center at Graz University of Technology.

What makes educational architecture so exciting is the specific and highly diverse demands placed on its spatial qualities. We therefore very quickly began seeking alternatives to the traditional classroom we had encountered during our own education. Expectations, new forms of learning, and possibilities have become more hybrid, and with them, the requirements for their spatial implementation. Open, airy spatial concepts with zones for small groups, free learning, and high-quality, sustainable building materials were already present in our early designs as precursors to the flexible teaching formats that have now become the standard.

Furthermore, it is highly exciting and challenging that children perceive space differently than adults. It is a different scale, a different eye level, and a different way of interacting that causes them to measure spaces differently and, in the case of seating niches, galleries, and quiet zones, to experience them differently as well.

It is always a challenge to design buildings where children can thrive and feel at ease, despite strict guidelines on floor space and typically tight budgets. In kindergartens and daycare centers in particular, there is an interesting interplay between bright, lively spaces and quiet spaces that provide a sense of security.