Bruno Bürgel Primary School Berlin

Under the full-day school policy of the Berlin city government, the Bruno Bürgel Primary School in Berlin’s Lichtenrade district required additional functions to meet the needs of extended school operations. In this context, an extension was built, with rooms for lunch services and after-school care in the upstairs group schoolrooms. On the lower level, the cafeteria façade opens to the sports complex and to the courtyard, so that school operations extend into a protected open space and into the outdoor area. The building is enclosed by a homogenous façade made of perforated aluminium sheeting, into which large circles of various diameters are cut. The circle motif is a reference to the school’s namesake, Bruno Bürgel, and his research on planetary rings. On the inside of the building, this motif is continued in the form of round ceiling lights that hover like planets above the heads of the pupils.