gibb - Campus

Due to a sharp increase in pupil numbers, the premises of Hans Brechbühler's trade school (Lorrainestrasse 1) had to be extended 50 years after it was built. Another important objective was to ensure that the building's dimensions fitted in harmoniously with the neighbourhood. Geiser solved this task by extending Jurastrasse, which connects to the site of the old building via a pedestrian bridge. With their main façades, the two wings - to the west for information and energy technology, to the east for the vocational baccalaureate - enclose the new street space and continue the perimeter block structure of the neighbourhood. Three transverse wings separated by landscaped courtyards provide a link to the adjoining terraced buildings to the west, while the extended Lorraine Park appears to surround the circular pavilion with refectory and assembly hall, which adjoins the east block on the courtyard side.
The scale of the surroundings is maintained thanks to the height of the building; the terrain had to be slightly excavated in order to construct the necessary five storeys. The economy of means - a steel construction with a high degree of prefabrication - allowed the architect to realise the project despite reduced construction costs. Prefabricated steel bays with composite concrete ceilings were chosen for the teaching and work areas, while folded sheet metal ceilings were used in the public zones; the installations for the building services are open-plan. © Building Inventory 2017, Monument Preservation of the City of Bern