Het Rijks Vocational School & Jorismavo wins the Architectuurprijs Nijmegen 2021

Jointly situated in a campus setting, the two separate schools Het Rijks and Jorismavo have been transformed into an open, green and inviting environment. The historical secondary school was built in 1955 by architect C.Pouderoyen and has previously been extended multiple times in its history.

The three buildings, though built at different periods in history, resonate with each other through recurring vertical wooden slats throughout the façades and together form a strong and unique identity. The inspiring power of working in a historical building has been recognised, as the four building wings of Het Rijks have been preserved and renovated. The design has also been expanded with new construction, including a four-storey atrium, a new auditorium in the central heart of the building and a new sports hall.

“Transforming buildings is an relevant task and always more sustainable than new-build. Adaptive re-use is not always self-evident because a new program might not fit perfectly and it can show constraints and limitations. In this case, however, the characteristics and structure of the existing buildings have been embraced and seen as strong assets for a new era. This has resulted in an integrated campus with beautiful and special spatial qualities that would have never existed in a new-build situation”, according to the jury of experts Gus Tielens (Korth Tielens Architects), Teake Bouma (Teake Bouma architecture/urban planning & winner of the Nijmegen Architecture Prize 2019), Sylvia Karres (Karres en Brands) and Johan Snel (urban planner AM Vastgoed).