Last week marked the official opening of the new extension to the old secondary school in Oldenburg - the AGO. The city's oldest secondary school, which dates back to 1573, had to plan for a long period of time with several branches - this is now a thing of the past. A long-awaited milestone was reached with the handover of the key, which not only unites the old secondary school spatially with the extension, but also leads it into the future.
The challenge was to create a solution that meets the requirements of modern educational environments in a limited space at a location steeped in tradition. The demolition of the old sports hall and the intelligent use of the newly created space made it possible to create a lowered new sports hall and modern classrooms on several floors. With around 1,700 square meters of additional learning and working space, equipped with specialist rooms for music, economics and MINT, rooms were created that strengthen the educational profile of the secondary school.
The energy-optimized alignment of the new building and barrier-free access to the existing building were particularly important. This was made possible with a connection to the existing buildings via steel bridges. All roof surfaces of the new building, apart from the roof terraces and photovoltaic areas, are designed as extensive green roofs. The energy-efficient planning to passive house standard ensures high energy standards.
This construction project was not only a planning challenge, but also a joint project involving all stakeholders. It is wonderful to see how the intensive planning and collaboration has resulted in a place that combines tradition and progress - and reunites the pupils and teachers in one place.
Finding the right architectural response to a place with so much history was not easy. But with a lot of communication between the faculty of the AGO, the city of Oldenburg and the monument protection authorities, we managed to complement the ensemble quite naturally.
