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Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau

Neuburg an der Donau, DE
2015–2021
Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. A modern, single-story building with wood cladding and a large glass facade, featuring outdoor seating with parasols. The building is accessed via spacious external staircases. Several students are standing in front of the entrance.
Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. Spacious school atrium with large windows, open floor, and tiered steps where many students sit and stand.
Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. Large school atrium with stairs, balconies, and red curtains; many students walk and sit on stepped seating in the background.
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Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. A modern, single-story building with wood cladding and a large glass facade, featuring outdoor seating with parasols. The building is accessed via spacious external staircases. Several students are standing in front of the entrance.
Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. Spacious school atrium with large windows, open floor, and tiered steps where many students sit and stand.
Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. Large school atrium with stairs, balconies, and red curtains; many students walk and sit on stepped seating in the background.

The new Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau (formerly Paul-Winter School) is designed around the concept of a village, with six learning studios clustered along a central ”school street.” This circulation space offers orientation and fosters communication. The facility also includes a gymnasium with two courts and outdoor playing fields, a cafeteria, and spaces for full-day care.

Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. Short concept sketch.

The school sits just outside the city gates, near the historic Sternschanze star fort on Neuburg’s southern edge. Set within a varied rural landscape, the school responds to its topography with a differentiated design. Its interwoven volumes follow the site's natural 28-meter slope from northwest to southeast, blending into the historic and natural context.

Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. Two-story school building with wood facade and large windows, exterior stairs, and a paved courtyard with trees, benches, and circular seating.

The building is broken into smaller units arranged along a central circulation spine, the “school street.” These clusters form courtyards and create a layout analogos to a village, where learning and communal spaces merge. A two-story auditorium near the entrance area serves as the school’s central hub, accommodating assemblies, parent meetings, lectures, and student performances. Designed as an open, spacious staircase and grandstand area with integrated seating, it connects the entrance level with the playground level, creating informal gathering areas that promote communication and a sense of community.

Level 1

Subject-specific classrooms and labs are located in dedicated wings at entrance level, extending into the landscape. The gymnasium, partially embedded into the terrain, lies on the site’s western edge, with outdoor sports areas above.

Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. Classroom with students seated at desks writing, large windows on the left, yellow accent wall, and shelves and board at the back.
Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. School corridor with students walking and sitting, yellow ceiling feature, wood wall panels, and stairs leading to an upper-level walkway.
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Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. Classroom with students seated at desks writing, large windows on the left, yellow accent wall, and shelves and board at the back.
Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. School corridor with students walking and sitting, yellow ceiling feature, wood wall panels, and stairs leading to an upper-level walkway.
Client
Landkreis Neuburg-Schrobenhausen
Architects
Behnisch Architekten with ALN Architekturbüro and Leinhäupl + Neuber
Address

Kreuter Weg 10
86633 Neuburg an der Donau
Germany

Gross Area

13.293 qm / 143,085 sq.ft.

Gross Volume

64.367 cbm / 2,273,120 cu.ft

Competition

2015, 1st prize

Photography

David Matthiessen

Subtly projecting rooflines guide visitors toward the main entrance, where the auditorium and middle school courtyard are arranged across two primary levels. The school street runs both in- and outdoors, connecting all the school buildings and facilities with one another. Along this circulation space are shared facilities like the cafeteria, library, multi-purpose rooms, music spaces, and after-school care—flexibly arranged to support varied uses.

Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. Axonometric site diagram of the school with green roofs, terraces, trees, and paths, set on a sloped landscape with contour lines.
Project by Behnisch Architekturbuero, Public Secondary School Neuburg an der Donau. Grid of large windows with opaque panels, showing view of the school courtyard with trees, benches, and a wood-clad building with exterior stairs.

Circulation spaces throughout the building are designed to support educational activities, adaptable for everyday learning. The yard opens toward green spaces in the north and sunlight in the south, supporting both learning and recreation. Throughout the school, strong visual and spatial connections to the surrounding landscape foster a continuous flow between indoor and outdoor life. A largely transparent facade, which solely serves as a thermal envelope, wraps the building like a curtain of glass, reinforcing the sense of an open, interconnected learning environment.

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