Extension of the Josef Schwarz School

The Josef Schwarz School in Heilbronn is a forward-looking educational project designed to contribute in the long term to the social and urban development of the Neckarbogen area. The new building, designed by Behnisch Architects Stuttgart, forms part of the Dieter Schwarz Foundation’s comprehensive commitment to education, which spans from company-run kindergardens to a university, and now a significantly expanded school offering.

The new school site is located in the Neckarbogen district – a former industrial area that today stands for modern, inner-city living, working, and learning. Its central location also posed particular construction challenges: the site lies on a former, backfilled harbour basin and therefore required complex reinforcement via bored piles, which were additionally utilised for geothermal cooling. The planning process also presented high demands: originally conceived as a more compact structure, the building volume was significantly increased during the project due to new educational concepts and municipal requirements.

Sustainable Interior Fit-Out by the Lindner Group

As part of this complex construction project, the Lindner Group took on key responsibilities for the interior fit-out as well as the technical building equipment. The Lindner SE | Fit-out South-Southwest division was responsible for installing approximately 20,000 m² of clay cooling ceilings, which constitute a central component of the school’s sustainable climate concept.

These ceiling elements combine the natural building material clay with integrated cooling systems. The result are climate-effective surfaces that balance temperature fluctuations, regulate humidity, and contribute to passive cooling of the rooms. Thanks to their connection to a geothermal system based on activated bored piles, it was possible to dispense with conventional, energy-intensive air conditioning – in line with a resource-saving, holistic building concept.

In addition, around 5,000 m² of plasterboard ceilings were used in the project, many of which had to meet increased fire protection requirements. 
In addition, Lindner Bautechnik GmbH was responsible for the technical insulation work in the building services engineering area. The services included the insulation of pipes and other building services components. In close coordination with the specialist planners, this contributed to the thermal and acoustic optimisation of the entire building.