Kaleidoscope Primary School

Situation

One of the reasons for the merger was to bring the 250 or so schoolchildren of the new entity together in one place, to replace the small colleges of the former municipalities and to simplify the children’s transport network.

The new Kaleidoscope primary school, built in record time, has just been inaugurated. It is located next to the existing multi-purpose hall and the bus station currently under construction.

Realization

Waterproofing. The new building offers eighteen classrooms, five of which are specialized (music, science, handicrafts, etc.), two libraries (one school library, the other community library), teachers’ rooms and a civil protection shelter.

Its construction came up against a number of obstacles, including the water table which, in this area close to the lake, necessitated preparatory work to avoid infiltration: a white tank ensures an impermeable structure by using concrete that is extremely resistant to water penetration.

The load-bearing structure is concrete, complemented by a load-bearing metal facade featuring colored niches. Inside, the flooring differs according to the purpose of the classrooms; the exposed concrete corridors have been treated with a mineral plaster, while the classrooms are smoothed in white.

The elements of the metal façade were produced in the workshop before the structure was erected.

This was a formidable challenge for the manufacturers, who had to ensure extreme precision to guarantee the integration of both types of material.

Heating is provided by the wood-fired central heating plant located in the neighboring multi-purpose hall and supplied by the commune’s forests. The roof is covered with photovoltaic panels.

Outside, there’s a playground for schoolchildren of all ages, a protected area for basketball, a playground with apparatus for the little ones, various tracks for running, high jump and long jump, and bicycle parking.

Special features

In addition to the problems associated with the water table, the site managers also had to contend with a number of other difficulties.

Construction had to be carried out in such a way as not to interfere with the operation of the neighbouring multi-purpose hall, which will also serve as an after-school reception area with canteen, and with the bus station currently under construction, which will be used both to transport children to their new school and for the very large number of commuters living in Vully-les-Lacs.