Starting signal for the construction of the school for the physically disabled

In the coming weeks, construction work will begin on the largest school building project of this year on Heinrich-Schütz-Straße. City Treasurer Berthold Brehm and Minister of State for Education and Cultural Affairs Brunhild Kurth broke ground today.

"The special education centre is of supra-regional importance and needs this new building in order to continue to meet the needs of pupils with physical and mental disabilities in the future. We fought for a long time to secure funding for this project. I am delighted that we have found a good solution with the state of Saxony and that construction can now begin," said City Treasurer Berthold Brehm.

On 20 June 2012, the Chemnitz City Council approved the construction of new school facilities at the Heinrich-Schütz-Straße site. A total of 32.61 million euros will be invested in the extensive construction project. The city of Chemnitz itself is investing just under 18 million euros of this.

The new school site will house a school for the physically disabled, a two-court sports hall with outdoor facilities, a residential home, all-day care for children and young people with physical and multiple disabilities and therapy rooms.

Construction preparations began in January 2012. The former barracks buildings that still stood on the site were completely demolished by May. The planned costs for this amount to 1.1 million euros. From March 2013, the shell construction will begin on the 5.7-hectare site. The earthworks and foundation work, which will now begin, must be completed by then. The new building is scheduled for completion in August 2014. For the further development of the site, it is planned to extend Yorkstrasse along the new special education centre and to designate the surrounding area as commercial space.

When planning the special education centre, it was important to create harmony between architecture, living, learning, working and nature. The school for the physically disabled will be located in the centre of the urban district of Sonnenberg and right next to the Zeisigwald recreational area. The close connection to city life should make it easier for pupils to participate independently in public life.

School for the physically disabled

The special educational support centre is divided into three teaching areas: the mainstream school area, the learning support area and the area for physically disabled pupils with intellectual disabilities. The school for the physically disabled is designed for around 230 pupils and contains 142 rooms, 65 of which are classrooms. A canteen is integrated directly into the building.

Residential home

The home is a fully inpatient facility where disabled children and young people are cared for from Monday to Friday, 250 days a year. The facility will offer a total of 24 places. The children and young people are aged between 7 and 21. The purpose of the residential home is to enable the children and young people to attend school.

All-day care for children with physical and multiple disabilities

A total of 48 places are available in the all-day care centre as a day-care facility. The central task is to support the individual development of the pupils and to enable a sense of community and participation through appropriate activities.

Medicine/Therapy

Pupils are offered physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy services during their time at school and during their stay at the centre. The therapy area has treatment rooms, a gymnastics room and a therapy and teaching pool.

Sports hall

The sports hall is designed as a two-court sports hall. It will have a grandstand with seating for 199 spectators and will also be suitable for competitions. There will also be a sports field with a small playing field, running tracks, ball pendulum facilities and a wheelchair training course.