Playful school expansion dotted with park-side vibrancy
The challenge
The Montessori School Community Amsterdam sought to enlarge the Metis Montessori Lyceum, housed in a historic 19th-century building at the Mauritskade, to accommodate the school's growing number of students.
This project coincided with the transformation of the Oosterpark, a landscape design by Buro Sant & Co, where the 'backyards' of the buildings along Mauritskade were opened up to create new connections with the park. The challenge was to design a new addition to co-exist next to the historic schoolbuilding while embracing this new park-side relationship.
The impact
This expansion provided a unique opportunity to enhance the school's new connection to its surroundings. Through careful design, the new addition was positioned to maximise the potential of its location in the vibrant Oosterpark, while respecting the existing historical building’s character. The skatepark by SkateOn is extended up to the school's facade, creating a seamless transition between the school and the park. The new facade is dotted with optical filters, prisms and reflectors, a playful artwork by Chris Kabel.
The result is a stately and stylish school building that respects its historical context, provides a vibrant modern learning environment for future generations, and actively engages with the surrounding park, embodying the goals of the Oosterpark expansion.
This project was designed with a talented team at atelier PRO Architects, with whom we also crafted the school's interior.
The feedback
"It was great to work with Naomi on this project. She is a versatile architect with a helicopter view, creativity, a keen awareness of stakeholders, and she is an inspiring colleague!"
