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The design of this secondary school, in Dutch VMBO schools, should contribute to the revaluation of this type of education. Also the building should react to its location next to the A2 highway, the most important North South connection in the Netherlands. The programme stated that the school should be arranged around ‘squares’. A sports hall and an assembly hall were also important elements.

VMX proposed a low, elongated building. A combination of a one and two story high building that would be conspicuous due to its dimensions, hence profiting from its location. The one storey part lays one metre higher than the ground floor of the other part of the school and houses the ‘techno square’. The idea is that by elevating this part of the building the technical subjects, which are often neglected, will become clearly visible. The difference in height between the two parts would ensure that the technical subjects are placed in a ‘shop window’. This idea of elevation is not just a conceptual notion but also a physical one, literally placing the school on a pedestal.

For the internal organization the sports hall is positioned centrally in the two-storey part of the school. At the transition between the parts, the assembly hall bridges the split-level in the school. The facades are clad in bright red corrugated polyester panels, punctured by large aluminium window frames.