Leon van Gelder

The Leon van Gelderschool provides a four-year curriculum for 12-year-olds who have completed primary education. The vital requisite of a safe environment is visualized in a building that rhythmically rolls and unrolls. A the very spot where once stood a vandalised school, now there’s a ‘natural’ school that is the talk of the district – screened off from the bustle of the world, open towards people. An elevated schoolyard lifts the students above the commonplace. Boundaries between floors, walls and ceilings are not clearly defined. A state of freedom which will allow the students to blossom. To children at a stage in life when they are continually asking ‘Why?’ and everything is unsettled, the school building’s reply is one of individuality, intimacy and originality.