De Kans (“The Chance”) resulted from a fusion of two special primary schools in city district Nieuw West. One of the existing buildings, located on the border of the Sloterpark, has been renovated and expanded to a new school with 17 groups.

A second chance
The existing building is a so-called H-school, referring to their typical layout, popular in the 50’s in the western garden cities. These schools consist of two wings connected with a glass hallway holding
two outdoor spaces between them. Because of the suitability of this typology for this type of education and the historical reference to this particular time period, the city district decided to preserve this building and designate it as the new location for the fused school.

New in- and exterior spaces
Starting point for the design is the preservation of the external characteristics and special typology of the existing building in combination with the necessary spatial adjustments as a good flexible basis
for current teaching methods. In close cooperation with the school board, a wide variety of areas is realized within the existing building, allowing more specific forms of education and guidance.

The extension is located on the north side and follows the same typology: the new building is a separated wing connected by a corridor that serves as the new main entrance. This creates two new partially enclosed outdoor spaces: the schoolyard with the main entrance and an outdoor area for the youngest children. The architecture of the new building is contemporary but subtly following old characteristics such as the steel, aluminum and white masonry planes.

A building for the neighborhood
In the new situation indoor and outdoor spaces are added to the existing school. Some outdoor spaces are also available to other children at daytime, making a stronger bond with the environment.
The school also accommodates neighborhood activities and after school care; an extra communal facility, connecting the world of children with daily life in the neighbourhood.

Year: 2010
Client: Stadsdeel Nieuw West, Amsterdam
Size: renovation 2.700 m² (GFA)
new construction 700 m² (GFA)