From a gymnasium to a school in on simple click

Turning a gym into a school definitely would suggest a major demolition project. But that’s not the case in Enschede, where the Het Diekmann vocational school gave one of its gyms a whole new function. The innovative ClickBrick dry stacking system played a key role here, since additional windows could be easily installed where needed, offering maximum flexibility.

Turning a gym into a school

Refurbishment projects sometimes pose even greater design challenges than new build projects. Renzo Panvello and his team at bct architectenbureau specialise in sustainable building and revitalisation of educational buildings and have combined these two concerns in the Enschede project. Major changes had to be made, especially to the façade. To access more daylight, the architects installed 28 new windows.

The façade consists of ClickBrick cladding components, which made the refurbishment work easy. “This brick creates large, continuous surfaces with no horizontal joints, producing an interesting finish. To change the function from a sportshall to classrooms, we introduced several vertical façade openings to add windows. Combined with the beautiful structure of the brick, this creates a wonderful effect,” says Renzo Panvello.

A new lease of life

The flexible ClickBrick dry stacking system made the extensive remodelling of the façade relatively easy. A total of 18,000 bricks were removed to create space for the window frames; these bricks were then in some cases halved for further use. In the end, approximately 6,000 ClickBrick bricks were reused directly in a follow-up project. This shows the immense recyclability of the material, which can be used again and again as an ecological building material with a constant aesthetic quality and a low failure rate.

“This brick creates large, continuous surfaces with no horizontal joints, producing an interesting finish. To change the function from a sportshall to classrooms, we introduced several vertical façade openings to add windows. Combined with the beautiful structure of the brick, this creates a wonderful effect,” - says Renzo Panvello.”

An extraordinary system

Designers often look for new materials to create an aesthetically attractive look and feel of their very own. At the same time, it is important for the contractors to take into account the costs of material used, its processing, sustainability and upkeep. ClickBrick is a dry stacking system that consists of a larger proportion of bricks compared to conventional bonded and mortared brick systems.

They are fixed to each other and to the substrate by stainless steel clips and wall ties. Since the joints do not have to be mortared, there is no efflorescence or staining of the finished brickwork and the system is completely recyclable. Thus, even without expertise in the field of bricklaying or installation and without any special tools, it is possible to build an aesthetically ambitious, colourful façade. The ClickBrick system therefore also provides a solution to the rapidly growing construction industry which goes hand-in-hand with the marked shortage of skilled labour in the industry.