Gymnasium A + was opened on the territory of the "Comfort-town" residential complex, also designed by ARCHIMATICS. Another project of the company is located here: the complex of the "Academy of Modern Education A +", consisting of a kindergarten, an art school and an elementary school. In gymnasium A +, children will study from grades 3 to 12.
Formally, the gymnasium is one of those "encumbrances" for developers, which provides new residential complexes with "school spaces". At first, an ordinary state comprehensive school was planned here, but it turned out that the city did not have the means to take it on the balance sheet - then KAN Development invited a private one. The result is one of the best educational institutions in Kiev in all respects: in terms of architecture, educational program and technical equipment.
The site was chosen on the edge of "Comfort Town" - at the intersection of Bereznev and Bethlehem streets. Nearby there is a railway line, which gave a sanitary protection zone of 100 m. Because of this, only a "patch" remained for building, but around it there is a large free area, where a park, playgrounds and sports grounds, and a stadium were located. Having calculated the insolation norms, the architects came to the optimal form - a square building with a courtyard-well.
The architects wanted to make the gymnasium austere - not only to contrast with the bright houses of "Comfort Town", but also as an expression of the idea of fundamental education. At the same time, she had to look friendly and open. Form, color and materials work for all these tasks.
The budget did not allow to make the facades completely stone, so a compromise had to be found. The architects considered Baumit to be the only suitable plaster: "for the natural chaos of inclusions of different shades of gray and black." A stone was selected for it: we stopped at Armenian basalt - the material is not very widespread and recognizable, therefore, as the authors say, it does not refer to museums or memorial structures. According to Olga Chernova, one of the main architects of the project, this stone is "soft and friendly, like the Armenians themselves, who treat everyone like a family." Another shade of gray is provided by the metal roof with free slopes.
The first floor is lined with textured blocks of basalt - a powerful foundation, like the ruins of an ancient monastery, from which "tiles" of vertically rusticated plaster of various thicknesses rush upward.
It was not possible to make the building completely gray - it was necessary to place the logo of the “A +” gymnasium in Marsala color on the main facade. It turned out that it looked organic, then a little color was added to the entire facade - the frames of the windows were painted with ultra-matt paint of the same shade.
The restrained image of the gymnasium building chosen by the architects set them the task of “getting as far as possible from the resemblance to the Chateau d'If”, making it calm but not harsh, noble but not gloomy. Rather, according to the authors' intention, the outline of the pitched roof should resemble mountains, the arch - the entrance to a cave; maybe even recall romantic book-cinematic images of a meeting with a mentor - as in Star Wars, and in many other places.
The main facade of the gymnasium passes from an almost blank wall to a "crystal" stained-glass window almost to the entire height of the building, then class windows and a 25-meter span of an unsupported arch cut through it - it invites, almost pulls into the courtyard with the amphitheater. In the courtyard, it is planned to hold lines, concerts, theater studio performances, and sometimes even lessons.
The ground floor windows on the main façade are the parent's cafeteria, separated from the school by an access system. Near the library, it has its own exit to the gymnasium courtyard, if necessary, the library can also be closed from the rest of the school premises for open public events, trainings, book presentations and literary evenings. As conceived by the architects and the school administration, the library should become a cultural "hub" of the entire district. Also on the ground floor there is a FIFA-certified sports hall, a canteen, an open space teachers' room, a cloakroom, a first-aid post and several computer science and technology rooms.
On the second floor there is an assembly hall for 200 people, a gymnasium, classrooms for mathematics, chemistry, physics and biology. One wing is occupied by an elementary school - pupils of the third and fourth grades, who have their own recreation area: here you can lie on the "grass", hide in a house or swing on vines.
On the third floor there is an art studio, a universal black box rehearsal room and a lecture hall with 150 seats, which can easily be converted into a cinema. On all floors, corridors create a ring-square around offices and recreational spaces. ARCHIMATIKA worked on the interiors of the school in collaboration with Svoya Studio.
The school has an autonomous heating and air conditioning system: 170 wells have been drilled under the football field for a ground source heat pump. The streetlights are solar-powered and there are electrical outlets in the parking lot. Also on the territory of the gymnasium there is a greenhouse and a small vegetable garden. According to the head of the team of authors Alexander Popov, energy efficient solutions are not just a tribute to fashion. Since the tariffs went up in Ukraine, such things began to pay off, and the demand for them is now growing.
One of the main features of the A + gymnasium, which was implemented, among other things, with the tools of architecture, is its openness. TV presenters, politicians, artists and athletes are invited to the lecture hall for a stream of two or three classes to give lectures or conduct master classes. The assembly hall, which, if desired, can be fenced off from the rest of the premises, can be used as a chamber theater, its acoustic and light systems meet the requirements. It is planned that both students and participants of the theatrical laboratory "Review" will perform here. The football field measuring 60x40 m will be used by the youth football club "Vulkan" as a home arena. In the summer, the school turns into a camp with various studios.
Parents can use the cafeteria, in the evenings - the school's sports grounds and the services of a coach, they can enroll in a theater studio. The school also involves them in other events - like the Vienna Ball, for which they need to learn a waltz and think over costumes. Residents of "Comfort Town", by the way, receive a small discount on the education of their children.
Schools seem to be becoming a "companion" specialization in ARCHIMATICS. This seems logical, but in reality it does not occur very often: schools and kindergartens are often designed "in the appendage", without paying special attention to them. However, comparing private and public institutions is not entirely correct, the programs of the latter are still too far from
modern pedagogy.
According to the ARCHIMATIK project, the building of the Pechersk International School and the aforementioned complex of the "Academy of Modern Education A +" for younger children were built in Kiev. The company plans to build the next school in the "Fine Town" residential area, then there will be a sports school in the "Respublika" residential complex, both under the A + brand.
