LRO | School Annex and Housing, Cologne-Lindenthal

School Annex and Housing, Cologne-Lindenthal

In the Cologne district of Lindenthal, the Archdiocese of Cologne expanded the school premises of the Liebfrauenschule (School of Our Lady) secondary school, the Domsingschule (Cathedral Choir School) primary school, and the Kölner Dommusik (Cologne Cathedral Music) with additional classrooms and rehearsal rooms as well as a central canteen. The school functions are complemented by ten housing units on the upper floors.
For the musical training, especially at the Domsingschule, new rehearsal rooms have been provided for individual and group instruction. Both the Domsingschule and the Liebfrauenschule have oriented their teaching activities to an all-day school programme, resulting in the need for a canteen. It is designed with the capacity to serve up to 300 meals simultaneously and up to 800 meals in total each day. Furthermore, the intention is to be able to use the canteen’s dining hall as an event venue.
The building plot measures approx. 3,300 m² and is located directly next to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, designed by Gottfried Böhm.
Clarenbachstraße runs along the north and provides access to the property. To the east, along Brucknerstraße, is a public park with chestnut trees that are recognised natural monuments listed in the register of historical monuments of the city of Cologne. To the south is the Church of the Resurrection, and to the west the property borders on an existing gymnasium for the Domsingschule and an adjoining sunken courtyard.
The building complex is new construction of medium height that is classified as a built structure of special type or use (special structure). Consisting of three upper floors, the ground floor and a basement, the building form is articulated into three different volumes. The principal volume is entered on the ground floor via a central lobby. Adjoining one side of this volume is the kitchen, including sanitary facilities. On the other side are four large rehearsal halls, which are accessed from a central corridor.
On the upper storeys are ten housing units, each with approx. 80 to 140 m² of living space. The first floor is supplemented by 30 practice booths for school use. In the basement are an underground car park, technical and storage areas and the toilet facilities for the school.
Connected to the southern side of the main volume is the single-storey block of the canteen dining room. This area is spanned by a lightweight wood structure supporting the lightest possible roof assembly.
The third volume directly adjoins the Church of the Resurrection over two storeys. The classrooms and canteen are accessible by foot across a courtyard (the “Sing Garden”) that opens to the Domsingschule and through a passageway to the forecourt of the church, while access to the housing units is from the north via Clarenbachstraße.

Client:
Erzbistum Köln, Generalvikariat Abteilung Bau, Köln

Architects:
LRO Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei Architekten, Stuttgart

Team:
Frank Bohnet, Philipp Gantenbrink

Project Management:
Drees & Sommer Köln GmbH

Structural Engineering:
Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner Beratende Ingenieure VBI AG, Stuttgart

Test Statistics of the Engineering Construction:
Pirlet & Partner Baukonstruktionen, Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, Köln

Building Engineering:
Ingenieurbüro Heiming, Köln

Structural Physics:
ISRW Klapdor GmbH, Düsseldorf

Fire Protection Planning:
Kempen Krause Ingenieure GmbH, Aachen

Competitive Multiple Commission:
04/2014 – 1. Rang

Construction Period:
2017 – 2020

Gross floor area:
5.300 m2