Out of 152 submissions for the ZV-Bauherrenpreis from all over Austria, six projects were awarded, including the Gloggnitz school complex. The winners of the renowned builders‘ prize were honored on October 15, 2021.
The entries ranged from residential, office and educational buildings to scientific and cultural institutions as well as non-profit organizations. 24 projects were nominated from the 152 submissions. From this, the main jury, consisting of the Linz architect Peter Riepl, the Graz architect Roger Riewe and the architectural theorist Angelika Schnell, determined the six winners of the ZV Client Prize 2021.
The award-winning Gloggnitz school center consists of an elementary school, middle school, polytechnic and the special education center and has a square floor plan of around 70 by 70 meters.
The sustainability demanded in the competition not only concerned the ecological concept, which meets today’s standards with heat pumps, mass storage and solar cells. Rather, the main aim was to combine the diverse social and educational activities into a sustainable exchange with the entire city. This happens on several levels.
On the one hand, the school center offers the possibility of being used by sports clubs and events of all kinds. On the other hand, the ground floor zone is consistently glazed from floor to ceiling, so that passers-by have a direct insight into the workshop, experimental and technical rooms. Above all, the centrally located sports halls will visually captivate visitors.
Playing, learning, frolicking children are the best investment in the future!
The „open form“ supports the three-dimensional space frame made of steel with a span of 30 meters. Just like the clustering of the classrooms on the first floor, each around a “marketplace”. And this in turn around a large open courtyard on the roof, which allows wonderful views of the surroundings.
Resilient materials such as spruce wood for the interior (larch outside), simple wood wool for the ceiling and numerous passages or views correspond exactly to the request of the client, the municipality of Gloggnitz, for diverse exchange, inclusion, diversity and sustainability.
The Builders‘ Prize of the Central Association of Architects honors outstanding buildings, open space designs and urban planning solutions of the last three years, which are particularly characterized by the intensive cooperation between builders and architects. A large part of the around 300 buildings that have received awards so far have become part of the Austrian architectural history of the recent past.