De Gulleboom, Gullegem

Rethinking a school campus.
De Gulleboom primary school was in need of expansion, but formulated the need to restructure their school campus at the same time. Our competition proposal is based on the maximum preservation and renovation of the existing structures. At the same time, the new structure gives a fresh and unique face to the school, whilst the historical buildings remain visible in the village’s main street. The proposed extension not only houses the new classrooms and music academy, but also structures the school’s playground into different areas. The front courtyard functions as a space of arrival in the mornings and in the evenings, but becomes part of the school’s playground during the day. The school’s administration office is located on the ground floor of the new extension, where it has an easy view of the playground. The front courtyard can be used as an outdoor event space in combination with the school’s cafetaria for fundraisings or other communal activities on weekends or in the evenings, whilst the rest of the school remains closed. The music academy can also function separately. The front courtyard is thus more than a school playground, it becomes a village square.

The school’s staff gets a separate entrance and garden for lunch- and coffee breaks. The existing school buildings are preserved and renovated. We propose to insulate ground-level floors using seashells. The extension is realised with hempcrete, an environment-friendly building strategy. The aim of this competition design is thus to achieve as much as possible with minimal intervention and ecological footprint.

Phase: Open Call competition 2025
Client: De Gulleboom primary school
Team: carton123 architecten, Sileghem & partners (structural engineer), AIKO (building services engineer)
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