Gateway to the world

Project
Kvadrat textiles have been selected by bof architects for the Gateway to the World Educational Centre, the largest education complex of Elbe Islands, Hamburg. Gateway to the World (Tor zur Welt) is designed to be an educational centre for the young and old, as well as for people of all cultures. The complex encompasses a primary school, a grammar school, a remedial language school, an adult education centre, a library, a café, child day-care centres, meeting rooms, advisory and support facilities. This energy-efficient complex is characterised by climate-friendly methods and materials. For example, the buildings are DGNB certified, meet Passive House requirements, and are equipped with many solar panels. A special feature of the project is the way that school children, parents, teachers and residents have been involved since its onset. They have been responsible for its naming, design of the communal area in the central foyer, and for assisting architects determining spatial requirements.

Solution
Fillippa, in green, purple, yellow and blue, is used for curtains in various areas such as classrooms, the library and public spaces. In technical rooms, Dawn in dark grey is used. In total, 2500 metres of curtain were supplied.

‘To facilitate the orientation within the building complex, the individual parts of the building feature a ‘house colour’. We developed this in collaboration with the designer Florencia Young. This can be seen at the entrance, on the stairs, in corridors, in classrooms and on curtains. When we looked for the curtains, Kvadrat’s Fillippa stood out as the perfect choice. It matched the colour perfectly and its pleasant pattern made it ideal,’ Patrick Ostrop, Founder and Architect at bof architects.