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Free Primary School De Sprong

Type
Primary School
Place
Waardamme, Belgium
Project type
Rehabilitation of the floors of a Belgian elementary school
Size
750 m²
Products
Lino Art (500m²), Taraflex Multi-Use (250m²)

Low-maintenance and durable floors for new building section Free Primary School De Sprong

Primary school De Sprong is situated in the centre of the village of Waardamme next to the church. The Sint-Blasius parish church with cemetery is listed as a protected monument on the architectural heritage inventory. Together with the nearby former presbytery on the Dorpsplein and the existing cemetery wall between the church and the school site, it forms a protected village sight. Architecten Groep III from Bruges integrated the new building volume of the school optimally into this historical context. Oxfloor-Multistep from Kortrijk was responsible for installing the durable Gerflor floors in the classrooms and the sports hall.

"The school buildings were in a poor technical state and no longer met the needs of the school," says architect Delphine Bostoen. "The different locations also made it difficult for the school to function. Both the sanitary facilities and the refectory were very outdated, there was a need for a gymnasium and there was also a capacity problem. The school therefore wanted six new classrooms, a gymnasium with associated changing rooms, new toilets and a dining area with supporting accommodation."

Delphine Bostoen, architect

Contemporary volume versus protected village landscape

Architecten Groep III thoroughly studied which buildings were worth preserving and which would be better to be demolished. The design team opted to preserve only the existing monastery building, because of its heritage value and the recently completed roof extension. On the ground floor, a new refectory and sports hall were built with the associated functions such as sanitary facilities, changing rooms, storage and a maximum surface area for open play.

On the first floor, there are 6 primary classes organised in an L-shaped volume that folds over the playground, creating a covered play area. This L-shaped volume faces the church and the protected villagescape. On the one hand, the contemporary volume confronts the protected villagescape, but on the other hand the choice of sober and similar materials creates a dialogue between the two.

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Seamless material

Architecten Groep III recommended DLW Linoleum Lino Art from Gerflor as a floor covering for the classrooms. This type of flooring has the surface treatment Neocare, which makes it extremely hardwearing. In primary schools, Architecten Groep III often works with bright, inspiring colours. 

 

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"For classrooms, we always prefer a material that is as seamless as possible because this brings maximum uniformity. Linoleum is also an ecological product, acoustically interesting and easy to maintain if the right products are used. In De Sprong primary school we chose yellow as the basic colour, supplemented by an accent colour for each room to make the individual classes recognisable. Yellow is the universal colour for cheerfulness, positivity and happiness. Who wouldn't want to give this feeling to the children? It also stimulates the brain and the thought process."

Architecten Groep III

The company Oxfloor-Multistep was responsible for laying the floor.

Top layer with long lifespan

The municipality of Oostkamp is participating in the project to make the school accessible to clubs after school hours. The location of the sports hall and cafeteria on the ground floor ensures that optimum operation is also possible after school. Group II Architects therefore went in search of a multi-purpose floor product for the sports hall and finally chose the Taraflex® Multi-Use.

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"It is extremely suitable as a sports floor, but can also be walked on with normal shoes during pre-school and after-school activities," says architect Bostoen. "This type of floor was also used during the renovation of the gymnastics hall in the Spanjeschool in Roeselare. This hall is also used for multipurpose activities and we have already received many positive reactions to this choice of floor. Gerflor recently launched a number of new colours in the range that convinced us to opt for this product."

Delphine Bostoen, architect
 

"The advantage of this floor covering is that the top layer has a lifespan of more than 30 years. With other types of flooring, you have to renew the top layer regularly and thus also the lines for the various types of sports."

David Janart, Oxfloor-Multistep Company

Some advices by Delphine Bostoen, Architect

Know more about products we used

Gerflor, the flooring group

Gerflor creates, manufactures, and brings to market innovative, decorative and eco-responsible complete solutions for resilient floors, wall coverings, and accessories, from installation to finishings for commercial environments.

 

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