KHR Architecture, together with a German team, has won the task of realising a school centre for 1800 students in the town of Lehrte near Hannover.
Will design a school centre for 1800 students
"It's a big, exciting project and the fourth we've won in Northern Germany this year. We have strong competences within school architecturewhich has convinced the client, and now we are so committed to the North German market that we can establish an entire German project department with the synergy effects that this entails," says Creative Director and Partner Janina Zerbe, who is leading KHR Architecture's strategic focus on the German market.
The school will be approximately 16,000 m2 including three sports halls and a canteen, as well as 21,500 m2 of outdoor space. The project will be realised as a public-private partnership with a term of 25 years and a total contract value of EUR 100 million. The construction company HOCHTIEF will be responsible for construction and operation, while design and planning will be carried out by KHR Architecture together with local architects Mosaik Architekten and NSP Landschaftsarchitekten.
"Long-lasting architecture is one of our trademarks. This is reflected in the concept, flow and choice of materials and goes very well with a PPP assignment like this, where the project economy spans 25 years," explains Janina Zerbe.
Earlier this year, KHR Architecture won school projects in both Sattrup and Hamburg as well as a large Olympic centre in Hamburg. Now this new school project near Hanover is added to the portfolio, proving that the focus on the North German market has exceeded expectations.
"Germany is not an easy market, but on the other hand, there is a lot of interest in some of the things that we at KHR are really good at. That's why we've decided to take the step of focusing our efforts on Berlin, where our first German school is currently being built, and on Northern Germany, which is culturally and physically closest to us. And then it's just great to see the strategy become a reality."
Mayor of Lehrte Frank Prüße is delighted in a press release that the new school centre is now on its way:
"The construction project is financially historic for the city of Lehrte. I am delighted that after years of planning and intensive preparatory work, it can now visibly begin in the summer of 2024.
The state-of-the-art new building will also completely reorganise the outdoor area. In the future, the building will be heated entirely by renewable energy and equipped with a full-surface photovoltaic system."
Project facts:
Construction of the Schulzentrum Lehrte-Süd is scheduled to begin as early as 2024 and will replace outdated school buildings and expand capacity. The school will be built to a sustainable passive house standard and will offer around 1,800 pupils and teachers a modern teaching, learning and working environment. The secondary school and canteen are expected to be ready for occupation as early as summer 2026. While one listed building will become part of the new school campus, the rest of the existing school buildings will be demolished from spring 2027 before the 3-court sports hall, among other things, can be built. In about 5 years, the car-free school campus will be fully completed. A joint venture between HOCHTIEF and SPIE will then take over part of the operation of the property. The contract has a term of 25 years for a total sum of EUR 100 million.
See more of the project here.
