An open school building in Westland connects education, landscape and campus life.
ISW Westland Vakcollege+
The ISW Westland Vakcollege+, a vocational school, is located at the entrance to the new Flora Campus in Naaldwijk in the municipality of Westland. The school, which has parking facilities for cars and bicycles with a sports hall and a residential tower above, forms part of the green landscape of the campus. The landscape rises in steps over the lower floors, where the car park is located. This provides the school with green terraces at the front and conceals the car park from view. Rooftop terraces and gardens provide spaces where students and teachers can learn, relax and socialize. De Zwarte Hond’s design is based on a flexible load-bearing structure. Classrooms and practical spaces can be accommodated within its 8.1-metre grid. Columns topped with a capital provide stability and can be seen in the interior and on the façade. An inviting entrance on the north side connects the schoolyard with the surrounding greenery. Adjacent to the entrance is the canteen, which has an outdoor terrace that is also open to the general public at weekends. An indoor street running through the centre of the school showcases all the educational spaces. The sports hall and catering facilities can be accessed independently outside of school hours, ensuring that the campus remains lively. Greenery, water collection and planting are integrated to contribute to a healthy learning environment.
data
- Location
- Naaldwijk, NL
- Size
- 17.700 m²
- Client
- Gemeente Westland
- Discipline
- Architecture
- Program
- Education
- Period
- 2025
- Status
- In Development
- Partners
- Klictet, ZRi, Ryse
Connecting education, landscape and life
The ISW Westland Vakcollege+ is an open learning environment on the Flora Campus where education, innovation and practice converge. The school occupies a distinctive location within this larger whole, in the green Florapark, where daily life unfolds. The building features car and bicycle parking with a sports hall and a residential tower above, and is integrated into the green campus landscape. As an open and flexible building, it serves as a link between education, the landscape and campus life in the Westland region.
Ground floor: Restaurant and shops
First floor: Technical facilities on the green roof
Second floor: Life, Alfa and Gamma surround the central hub and the patio
Fourth and fifth floors: Sports halls and grandstand
Third floor: Pro, lower years and the small sports hall
The inner street
The indoor street connects the functions and outdoor spaces on the upper floors
Connected learning
A spacious indoor street runs from the bottom to the top of the school, showcasing all of its educational functions. This central feature boasts distinctive wooden staircases and an abundance of daylight and indoor planting, which literally brings the outdoors in. Practical workspaces, catering facilities and communal areas are located next to transparent façades, providing direct contact with the surroundings. The school is therefore not a closed-off world, but an open space where learning, creativity and socializing come together, actively contributing to knowledge sharing and interaction.
Green as a learning environment
Greenery plays a central role in the school’s daily operations. Outdoor spaces form a natural extension of the learning environment. From the ground-level park to the rooftop gardens and terraces, spaces are created where students can learn, work together and unwind. Educational features such as an edible garden, a sports garden and a relaxation garden bring nature, food and sustainability into school life.
Load-bearing structure principle
Room to grow
The building is designed to adapt flexibly to changes in education. Thanks to the spacious layout of the load-bearing structure, with s a column spacing of 8.1 metres, both comfortable classrooms and large practical workspaces can be accommodated. The extra height per floor provides space for technical facilities, ensuring the building’s flexibility and adaptability in the future and eliminating the need for major renovations. The columns within this grid ensure the building’s stability. The shape of the column capitals is visible in the façade.
A campus that stays alive
The building continues to contribute to the campus outside of school hours. The sports hall on the upper floor and the catering facilities on the ground floor can be accessed independently, and have their own escape routes that do not run through the school. These spaces can be rented out separately, ensuring activity in the evenings and at weekends. This creates a vibrant place where education, sports and social interaction converge, establishing the school as an active and recognizable part of daily life in the Westland community.
