Römerstadt School

Werner Sobek was put in charge of building physics for the new Römerstadt School – a school for primary pupils and pupils with additional needs in the city of Frankfurt am Main. The new school development consists of four level-access buildings laid out in an arrangement that resembles the blades of a windmill. Grouped around a central, communal forum, this architectural ensemble includes a classroom wing for traditional morning-only education, an area for all-day learning, a school cafeteria and various administrative facilities.

In accordance with the City of Frankfurt’s Guidelines on Cost-Effective Construction, the new school was built to the Passivhaus standard and features a highly insulated building envelope. Large-format skylights in the central forum’s roof provide the surrounding structures with daylight.

From a Roman Settlement to a Passivhaus

The energy required to power the school’s building systems technology was kept to a minimum via the installation of a natural night-time ventilation system. This system’s vents were covered by perforated brickwork to protect the school from break-ins and the elements. Overflow vents were also fitted in the buildings’ partition walls to allow effective cross-ventilation.

During the project’s construction phase, archaeologists discovered remains from the Roman settlement of Nida that dates from the 2nd to the 3rd century AD and gives the school its name (Römerstadt means ‘Roman town’).