Reininghaus Primary School

The public school with 20 classes features a versatile learning-space concept with high-quality design. Dreiplus Architekten won the EU-wide, open, single-stage realization competition with subsequent negotiation procedure organized by BIG, securing the contract for general planning services. BIG then sold the site to the City of Graz. The building structure establishes an urban relationship with the northern Reininghaus secondary school (AHS) and extends its forecourt along the access road as the schoolyard. At its core is a spacious terrace on the first floor, enclosed by the clusters. The schoolyard opens to the west, framed spatially and equipped with tree islands as well as textile sun shading.

With the Reininghaus school complex, consisting of both the secondary school (AHS) and the primary school, Graz saw its largest new school construction in decades. The primary school was built using Holcim’s CO₂-reduced cement CEM II/C. Mr. Passer calculated emission savings of 45 tons. The IBO carried out the building ecology assessment. At the time of construction, official technical approvals were not yet in place, which limited the wider use of this cement. In total, 4,500 m³ of concrete were used, of which 1,600 m³ were CEM II/C.

The open-space concept provides diverse outdoor areas (forecourt, play yard, nature-oriented activity zones, rooftop landscape) incorporating microclimate, rainwater management, and biodiversity. Heating is supplied by district heating, while a photovoltaic system generates electricity. For the City of Graz, the Reininghaus Primary School represents a “school of the future.” Sustainability – both social and ecological – was a guiding principle from the start and was recognized with the klimaaktiv Gold certification (909 out of 1,000 points).