What if a school is no longer just a building, but a world of its own—a place where children can explore, discover, and grow? Located in Munich’s Maxvorstadt district, this primary school is conceived as an “inside world,” created through the vertical extension of an existing gymnasium. The original structure remains as a solid, familiar base, while a light, open, and dynamic volume rises above it—a deliberate contrast that challenges conventional school design.

Inside, a continuous spatial landscape replaces the traditional layout, dissolving strict boundaries while still allowing for clear forms of zoning. A flexible curtain system enables the entire floor to shift between open learning environments and smaller, more protected niches. The spaces are playful, intuitive, and diverse, supporting concentration, exchange, movement, and retreat. Children move freely, choose their own environments, and take responsibility for how they use them.

At the same time, this openness requires a respectful way of interacting. Different spatial situations encourage awareness, consideration, and collective behavior. The interplay between freedom and responsibility becomes a catalyst for personal growth, shaping not only how space is used but how it is experienced. Light, transparency, and visual connections create a coherent interior world where orientation emerges through movement and perception—a conscious shift in school design, grounded in respect that is not only embedded in space, but actively learned and lived.