Simmering school in danger: green belt gives way to new building for children!

Simmering school in danger: green belt gives way to new building for children!

The Florian-Hedorferstrasse middle school in Simmering is facing a major upheaval. The Vienna Education Directorate and MA56 are planning an extension for children with special needs, which will be built on the school's current green space. This green area extends over around 9,000 square meters and is used for physical education lessons as well as various school events. According to a report by meinbezirk.at, more than a third of this valuable area could be lost due to the new building, which is causing great concern among teachers and parents.

For this reason, parent representative Andrea Ehrenberger has already collected 400 signatures against the project. Director Stefan Puschmann is also skeptical and emphasizes that maintaining the sports area is of great importance for the students. He sees the planned new buildings as a restriction on the possible uses, which could have a significant impact on school life. The Education Directorate, on the other hand, assures that the open space available after the new building is completed will meet the legal standards and that around 10 square meters will be available per child.

New construction and its challenges

The planned new building project includes a six-story building with 20 classrooms that are specifically intended for special and intensive education. The building should not be built in the middle of the green area, but in the immediate vicinity of the existing school. Access to the new premises is through the existing school building, which is viewed critically by teachers and parents. Initial drilling for the project has already been carried out and the preliminary design phase is underway.

In the past, not only physical education classes but also school events were held on the green space in question. The school community is concerned about the space that could disappear as a result of the new building. The district council meeting will take place on September 17th, where the Greens Simmering want to submit applications and inquiries on this topic.

Looking outside the box: educational design in Vienna

In parallel to the developments in Simmering, a comprehensive construction program for educational institutions is being pushed forward in Vienna. The BIENE program, Vienna's largest building construction project for the education sector, will be presented this week through an interactive exhibition in the Vienna Planning Workshop. This focuses on aspects such as pedagogy, architecture, urban development and sustainability. Particular attention is paid to the topics of togetherness on the educational campus and inclusion in order to promote learning and social integration.

The exhibition “The Way We… Build Education” will take place from September 19 to November 15, 2024 and offers interactive elements that are particularly intended to appeal to students and specialist audiences. The educational initiatives aim to design educational campuses as lively centers that, in addition to schools, also include kindergartens and youth centers. The construction projects are intended not only to expand the space for education, but also to promote an environmentally conscious and social infrastructure.

For Simmering, the question remains open: Can the growth in the educational sector also meet the needs of the existing school community or is there a risk of new buildings overshadowing it? The coming weeks will be crucial, not only for the Florian-Hedorferstraße middle school, but for the entire educational infrastructure in Vienna. For further information about the ongoing projects, interested readers can access the websites of meinbezirk.at and bildung-wien.gv.at.