Mecanoo has been selected to design the new Amsterdam International Community School (AICS) near the Zuidas. The office will be designing an education building in which children, parents and teachers from all over the world can feel at home, but which is unmistakably set in Amsterdam.
AICS offers community-based international learning for students aged 4 to 19. The new building creates the opportunity to connect the various communities around the Zuidas, such as the VU Campus, the future sports fields, the Botanic Gardens of the Zuidas and the Amsterdamse Bos. As a result, AICS will become an asset for the entire neighbourhood.
Sustainability is central to the development of the school. AICS will become a unique but flexible new building which can easily adapt to changing requirements in the future.
Mecanoo’s education portfolio includes the Amsterdam University College (winner of Amsterdam's Architecture Prize 2013), Fontys School of Sport Studies in Eindhoven and ID College & ROC Leiden. In addition, Mecanoo is working together with furniture manufacturer Gispen to research the learning environment of the future. This collaboration resulted in the development of the modular furniture system HUBB, which was most recently awarded the prestigious Red Dot Award.