LZSG Salez, St Gallen

Conversion and extension of an existing agricultural training centre (9000 m²), built in the 1970s and ’80s (open competition).
The starting point of the design was to find a balance between, on the one hand, significantly improving the spatial organisation and architectural appearance, and on the other hand, doing so based on the existing building structure.
The result is a farmstead-like complex with an elongated front court on the north side and a three-sided enclosed garden space on the south side of the new central main building. Here, the classrooms and multifunctional rooms are situated. In the two side wings, all rooms for students lie on the west side (boarding school), and those for the centre’s employees on the east side (offices, etc.). By maintaining a certain distance between the main and side wings, both courtyards remain connected, creating a stepwise opening from the front court to the green courtyard. This, in turn, opens towards the Rhine valley, bounded by mountains.