Hanau’s Pioneer Park is a sustainable, climate-friendly residential development on the grounds of a former US military base. The new urban quarter will house about 5,000 people and naturally requires a school and a nursery. The new nursery has already been completed; an elementary school with three classes per grade is under construction complete with a sports hall and after-school facilities.

The school and nursery share a large site measuring over 10,000 square meters at the eastern edge of the Pioneer Quarter, and the design seeks to make the most of the opportunities provided by the area of woodland known as Kleine Bulau. Together, the two buildings frame an attractive space open to the landscape to the east, which serves as a schoolyard for the elementary school and can be used for outdoor teaching. It also provides a location for joint events and celebrations with the nursery: as such, it constitutes the heart of the complex and imparts a clear sense of identity. The school and nursery form an architectural and educational unity, further enhancing the visual and social qualities of the Pioneer Quarter.

The elementary school complements the ensemble north of the two-story nursery with a three-story building of balanced proportions. The sports hall is imaginatively integrated into the overall composition and opens to the schoolyard; changing rooms, showers, and toilets are at the northern end. The shared foyer looks out over the schoolyard and surrounding green areas and generates a welcoming and transparent atmosphere at the entrance. As such, the hall can also be used separately for evening functions.