De Twingel Community School

The primary school children, the children from the day-care centre, and library and physiotherapy visitors all enter the building via the central entrance, leading to the lively, central heart. The children receive a warm welcome here at their own school table. The classrooms  are located round an open-plan learning area and are not square boxes but homely spaces with a sloping roof.  Exciting attics where the children can play to their hearts’ content are located above the primary school classrooms and the learning areas. In addition to the ventilation systems, the chimneys that extend across all the roof ridges also have skylights. These provide a high level of daylight in the building and artificial light is almost never necessary. Taking full advantage of the use of daylight in the building is just one of the measures implemented that make it so sustainable. Sustainable, traditional materials, solar panels, a decentralised, controllable ventilation system, energy-efficient installations and sedum roofs led to the buiding being awarded the A+++ energy label.  A “sustainability cupboard” allows the children to see the solar energy yields, energy consumption etc. 

The present location of De Twingel, on the edge of Dwingeloo, was finally chosen because of the adjacent sports centre. The children have access to good sports facilities and, at the same time, there is sufficient parking space. This can be used by parents and children for their cars or bikes during the day and by visitors to the sports centre in the evening.