Good space for good education

The city of Hamburg undertook the refurbishment of the Corvey Gymnasium school in the Lokstedt district under the motto “Good space for good education”.

The Corvey Gymnasium is now one of the most popular schools in Hamburg, and had the highest enrolment in the 2018/2019 academic year with 195 first year pupils. The school particularly values and promotes democracy, creativity and health. Unlike other schools in Germany, where each class has its own classroom, classrooms here are assigned to the individual teachers, so that the pupils are “guests” of the teaching staff.

Reward for commitment to climate protection
Since 2016, the Gymnasium has been striving to reduce CO₂ emissions by two percent per year. The renovation of the school building, housing 12 classes, was completed in 2012. An overhaul of the cross-shaped gymnasium building aimed at increasing energy efficiency was completed in 2019.

The Gymnasium Corveystraße, along with 63 other of the 413 schools in Hamburg, was again awarded the ‘Climate School’ quality seal in this year. These schools have together saved 900 tonnes in CO₂ emissions in recent years. The Gymnasium Corveystraße was able to fulfil up to 90 percent of the targets of its climate protection plan, which sets out how the envisaged goals are to be achieved in the short, medium and long term.

Old facade with modern character
The facade of the cross-shaped building was made more energy efficient by replacing the original windows with new ones that comply with current standards. The sun protection shutters in the original prefab concrete parts, which had broken off, were replaced by new aluminium louvres. Existing high-quality masonry parts of thermal facade were renovated, and the window parapet areas already panelled with thermal insulation systems were painted in anthracite and the pilaster strips in white. Architects Tommy Müller and Nathalie Dudda (tun-architektur, Hamburg) succeeded in restoring the original visual structure of the facade, preserving the original parts whilst simultaneously giving them a modern touch.

The classrooms and corridors inside the building, which often felt dark and crowded, are now bathed in light to create a welcoming atmosphere. The walls and ceilings glow in an upbeat white, while individual surfaces have received cheerful colourful accents, which also indicate which floor one is on.

The new standard includes interactive whiteboards as well as state-of-the-art ventilation and lighting systems. The skylights are encased in the ceilings.

Special requirements on the part of the builder-owners for optimised acoustics in the classrooms and also in the spacious stairwells and landing areas, which are also used as common areas, were implemented by tun-architektur by using Troldtekt acoustic ceiling panels. They ensure low reverberation times, a healthy indoor climate and effective fire protection.