The Da Vinci College forms part of Leerpark Dordrecht, a leading project for innovative education in the Netherlands. The college accommodates approximately five thousand students who engage in work experience with some twenty companies. The Da Vinci College was designed to give a face to this new multidisciplinary vision of education.
As ‘a city within a city’, the college is made up of nine education buildings that are connected via laneways, squares and courtyards. This arrangement of interconnected buildings, each with its own entrance, not only creates an intimate atmosphere but also allows flexibility for the school to extend or downscale in the future.
Each building is unique, featuring a distinct quality of space and materials. Cor-Ten, masonry, plaster, zinc, aluminium and glass lend each building a characteristic identity and symbolise the pride of craftsmanship.
On the ground floor, transparent facades overlook the student service centre, practical training rooms and training companies such as the hairdressing salon, establishing visual connections with the main square. Spaces on the upper floors accommodate theory lessons.
The joined stairwells create a spacious, grand atrium. Wide stairs invite students to sit or linger and also function as a tribune during performances or events.
An iconic, organic building, wrapped in a skin of colourful vertical glass panels around a trio of cones, contains meeting spaces and a conference room. The eye-catching building forms the gateway to the city and symbolises the new Da Vinci College: distinct, colourful and diverse.