Halden High School Campus in Opfikon

The architectural specifications called for room-sized, metal window frames on the ground floor and for each upper level, extending to a skylight construction on the top floor. The building is accessed through an automatic sliding-door system that is inte-grated into a separate glass structure on the ground floor. Given that the exterior concrete columns were poured on location and already in place at the time the win-dow frames were installed, special attachment components were developed to se-cure the window frames. Meeting the demanding acoustic-protection specifications with a single-skin façade also proved to be a challenge.

Prefab concrete and brick elements were deployed under the window frames and between the cast-in-situ concrete columns. These consist partially of a lower compo-nent that is used to support the prefab brick walls and that also creates an interior  space that is protected against direct sunlight. The elements are topped by a win-dowsill. The layer of insulation behind the elements wraps entirely around the build-ing without any points of diminished insulation capacity.

The same basic architectural design was used for the gymnasium. One exception, however, was the gymnasium’s large prefab glass-brick walls that are supported by the concrete elements and attached laterally to the columns. Skylight ribbon-window frames made of metal are mounted above the glass-brick walls. Some of the win-dows themselves can be opened.

The newly constructed school building was awarded the first prize in the Canton of Zurich’s architectural design competition for the year 2019.