Topping out Ceremony – Josef-Schwarz-Schule, Heilbronn

28 March, 2023

The project to build the new Josef-Schwarz-Schule is one of the largest construction projects of its kind in Germany. The school will be built in the Neckarbogen quarter, a model development on the western edge of Heilbronn’s downtown. The all-day school (offering afternoon study periods and extracurricular activities) is both architecturally and educationally innovative. Covering a total area of around 50,000 square meters and offering bilingual teaching with an international focus, the project combines three types of school in one location. The architectural planning is guided by the idea of a lively campus with three self-contained buildings for an elementary school and two secondary schools (lower and upper) connected by a “schoolyard” level atop the ground floor. The integrated construction concept combines minimized building services installations, a hybrid timber structure, geothermal heating, photovoltaics, and regionally procured and recyclable materials in an aspirational approach geared to sustainability and high environmental standards.