On Friday 29 August at 1 pm, Lord Mayor Sven Schulze, Mayor Ralph Burghart and Mayor-elect Thomas Kütter will officially open the new extension to the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Grammar School.
Representatives of the media are invited to a press tour starting at 12 noon; the meeting point is at the new canteen, House II, Hohe Straße 35 (entrance next to the Arthur/aaltra cultural centre).
Since the 2025/26 school year, the six new classrooms located on the two upper floors of the extension and the new canteen on the ground floor with the associated serving kitchen (Cook & Freeze) as well as part of the newly designed schoolyard have been in operation. The single-storey canteen in the former inner courtyard with skylights and two direct exits to the schoolyard can also be used as an event venue for up to 350 people in addition to catering for 194 people.
Two specialist teaching and preparation rooms for chemistry and biology on the upper floors will be put into operation as soon as the specialist room equipment has been completed with ceiling systems for media supply.
The extension was built as a solid construction (reinforced concrete) with wood-aluminium window elements and an insulated and ventilated façade made of glass fibre concrete alternating with aluminium surfaces. In terms of design, the modern extension blends in harmoniously with the listed building thanks to the choice of colours and materials and the incorporation of proportions. Different coloured pilaster strips on the façades and a large curved signature as an eye-catcher on the green roof make reference to the school's namesake.
The extension, which is elevated on the ground floor, closes the previously U-shaped building to the west, so that the upper floors can now be used as a complete walkway around the green inner courtyard with the canteen below. This has improved the internal access situation with short routes.
The lift in the new staircase can be reached via the new ground-level entrance in the schoolyard covered by the extension. This will provide barrier-free access to both the new and existing buildings from the basement to the first floor. Barrier-free toilet facilities have been built in the new toilet area attached to the canteen and on the first floor of the extension.
The outdoor area will have a new football pitch and streetball court as well as table football and table tennis tables. Seating walls and wooden platforms provide opportunities for communicating, learning and presenting in the open space.
The new extension fulfils the requirements of the current Building Energy Act and has been equipped with a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery. Photovoltaic modules on the flat roof will supply the school building with renewable electricity in future. The underfloor heating of the extension is supplied with the return flow from the district heating supply of the existing building, so that the existing district heating is utilised effectively. External sun protection and acoustically effective materials in the interior ensure a pleasant feeling of space and the best learning conditions.
Sustainability certification in accordance with DGNB is being sought for the building.
The funds invested in the construction project amount to around 11.3 million euros and are within the available budget. The SAB approved funding totalling approx. 3.2 million euros for the project.
History
In order to ensure that the Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff-Gymnasium can accommodate four classes and to create improved learning conditions, various options for organising the required rooms were examined.
In February 2023, Chemnitz City Council decided to build an extension on the west side as well as a new canteen and underground car park in the courtyard of the existing listed building.
The preparatory measures for construction, such as explosive ordnance investigation, demolition and earthworks as well as bored pile foundations, were completed in June 2023. The shell construction work then began, followed by the finishing work from August 2024. At the same time, the necessary upgrading measures for fire protection and minor conversions of rooms in the existing building were carried out.
In spring 2025, work began on redesigning the outdoor areas, which will continue in some areas until the autumn.
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