After the house in which they are raised, school is children’s second introduction to architecture. In this environment, with the proportions of grown-ups, children should feel at home, while simultaneously taking on the challenge of discovering this new world. Compulsory education compels architects to create interiors that provide both affection and adventure.

Being a new residential area, the Amsterdam Eastern Docklands has a child population higher than it will have in years to come. Presently the school utilizes the lowest three floors of this mixed-use building and in all probability this will be reduced to only one floor in the near future. The office function will descend from the top floor down and preserve the building’s functionality. To permit a flexible transition of use, entrances are provided on both sides.

In contrast with the municipally ordained severity of steel and stone on the outside, the interior of the school is light and colourful. Wood-cladded service cores link the class rooms and act as a threshold to the broad corridor.