Přístavba základní školy v Dobřichovicích

The project for the extension of the elementary school in Dobřichovice was undertaken by the SHA office based on their victory in the architectural competition announced by the leadership of the town of Dobřichovice in 2008.
The area being addressed is located right in the center of Dobřichovice. It is a visually prominent site.
The entrance to the existing school was located near a busy intersection and did not offer any waiting area. The public space with a playground on the southern - court side of the existing school building represented the only gathering space for students. Unfortunately, it is located far from the school's entrance and was accessible only via a detour.
The overall mass of the new extension maximally utilizes the entire lot up to its eastern edge. This results in a building composed of an existing and a new part with a total length along 5. května street of approximately 70 meters. The main entrance to the building is placed on the eastern side, where it was possible to create a sufficiently large and safe pre-area for gathering students before and after lessons.
The new extension is divided into two masses. The first, three-story part directly connects to the existing building and roughly traces the outline of the demolished oldest part of the school. The second, two-story part consists of a set of individual masses of classrooms and teacher's rooms around a wide central corridor with resting corners. Both parts are connected by a central space with a staircase and a semi-open space of a multifunctional "library." The two parts of the complex are connected by a large roof that merges smaller parts of the composition into one whole and brings a stronger and more assertive scale.
The new sections of the school are designed to create a comfortable, clear, and well-lit internal space, enabling classrooms to have views predominantly towards the tranquil southern and eastern areas and to be sufficiently illuminated.
The entrance part is designed as a two-story space, utilizing the level between the ground floor and the basement, where the central changing rooms for students are located. From the entrance area, it is possible to continue directly half a floor up to the ground floor.
Classrooms and teacher's rooms are organized into similar two-story blocks that repeat several times. The gaps between individual blocks bring natural light into the internal spaces of the school. This solution contributes to reducing the scale and better contextually relates to the dispersed development of buildings in the south and east.
The new part of the building is connected to the existing school building at both the ground and first floor levels. Each part has its own staircase. Accessible circulation is facilitated by preparing a shaft for an elevator, which is directly accessible from the pedestrian zone of 5. května street and connects all floors.
The proposed mass and operational solution is underscored by the choice of façade materials. Individual blocks of classrooms are clad in wooden slats made of red cedar. The technical solution of this cladding, along with the design of public greenery in the ground floor area, includes covering part of the wooden façade with climbing greenery.
The main space, the "little square," in front of the school's entrance is designed so that the materials and details used connect with the previous adjustments of the school courtyard, thus creating a unified ground floor around the school.