Volksschule Matte

Matte primary school consists of two school buildings and two gymnasiums. The Matte Gross school building was built in 1834-37 according to the plans of Berhard Wyss, architect and then master builder of Bern. The Matte Klein school building was built in 1868 (architect unknown). The small gymnasium was built in 1882 as Bern's first gymnastics facility for 40 pupils and was the last addition to the Matte school buildings. The large gymnasium was completed in 1992.

The procedure and the depth of intervention were defined for each of the three buildings worthy of protection in co-operation with the monument preservation authorities. The primary objective for all three buildings is to preserve the substance of the building components from the period of construction or from important construction phases.

Both school buildings underwent a complete refurbishment and the two gymnasiums a partial refurbishment. The small gymnasium was converted into a day school. At the same time, standard adjustments were made with regard to the applicable school space planning and the facility was adapted to the current legal requirements in terms of energy requirements, fire protection, fall protection, hygiene and obstacle clearance. The refurbishment was carried out in accordance with the ECO standard as far as possible from a conservation point of view.