MODULAR W school building structures

In collaboration with our architecture partner Bauart Architekten und Planer AG, Blumer Lehmann won the general contractor competition run by the city of Winterthur with its proposal for second-generation MODULAR W school buildings. The first of these schools in Winterthur was Langwiesen, which was given extra space constructed from high-quality timber modules. And on Wülflingerstrasse, lessons are already taking place in a MODULAR W modular school building. Four more locations are to follow. 

Many school sites in the Winterthur city area are in need of extra space, either now or in the next few years. With the MODULAR W system, the city is making up for the lack of classroom space with a flexible and customisable solution. At Langwiesen, the two-storey modular timber structure with Minergie-P-ECO certification and a main floor area of 450 m²  has provided urgently needed classroom space since August 2021. Two blocks, each formed of 28 timber modules, make up the two-storey temporary school building. At the same time, the existing school building is being renovated and extended. Following this, in around 2028, the temporary timber school building will be dismantled and installed at another location.

The school facilities on Wülflingerstrasse were also in need of additional space. At the end of January 2022, a timber MODULAR W structure was also put into service there. Instead of renting the timber modules as originally planned, the city of Winterthur decided to purchase the MODULAR W classroom solution to allow them to respond to the shortage of space in a targeted, swift and flexible way. On the one hand, the city is expanding existing facilities, and on the other, modular buildings are being used where the need for temporary space arises.