In 2011, two Swiss towns on the western shore of Lake Zurich, Rüschlikon and Kilchberg, decided to construct a shared public school for grades seven through nine. Rather than building separate facilities, they pooled their resources in hopes of increasing staff and creating a single building at an elevated level of design that would enhance the learning experience with flexible spaces. “When institutions merge, the usual motivation is to save money,” says Lorenz Felder, a parent and president of the association overseeing the new facility, “but we wanted to improve the quality of the education— this was the driving force.”
Situated among single- and multifamily residences in Rüschlikon, the school, named Campus Moos, opened in September 2016. It occupies a site planned by Zurich-based architects Jakob Zweifel and Heinrich Strickler with landscape architect Ernst Cramer in the late 1960s. The team had proposed shops, a residential tower, a primary school, and a row of plane trees along the site’s northern and western boundary, yet only the school was built and the trees planted. Taking part in a limited competition in 2012, E2A architects, also Zurich-based, returned to this scheme and placed a compact six-story middle school for 164 pupils next to the primary school, where the residential tower had been envisioned, thus preserving the mature trees and the neighboring play area.
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.