Office of the authorized architect : : Leona Kordiš, mag.ing.arch.
OŠ Valentin Klarin, Preko
Conceptual design for the reconstruction and extension of the primary school
The school in Preko is located on a distinctly demanding sloped site, positioned between the existing road, the sports field and the natural green backdrop of the island. Even in its current state, the building is terraced into the terrain, with volumes that follow the slope of the plot and create a sequence of split levels, passages and views towards the surrounding school grounds.
The main architectural concept arises from the given structure of the existing school, as well as from the local architecture of the island of Ugljan. The existing building, with its elongated volumes, pitched roofs and rhythm of openings, became the starting point for the new intervention. The extension does not attempt to erase the existing condition, but to continue its logic — through clear volumes, simple lines and a restrained relationship with the terrain.
The design also reflects a relationship with island architecture: with houses that do not dominate their surroundings, but rather adapt to the slope of the land, the light, the wind and the scale of the place. The new part of the school is therefore not conceived as an imposed gesture, but as a continuation of the existing whole — contemporary yet calm; functional yet rooted in the local context.
The task of reconstruction and extension was not simply to add new classrooms, but to rethink the school as a whole — as a place of learning, gathering, movement, support and the children’s everyday life.
The project includes the reorganisation of the existing school, the addition of three new subject-teaching classrooms, a new library, an expanded dining hall, additional cabinets and service spaces, a sensory room, a special classroom unit for pupils with disabilities, as well as improved accessibility through an elevator, access ramp and vertical lifting platform.
At the centre of the intervention is the idea of the school as a living, multi-level space. By extending the dining hall and adding tribunes, the existing multipurpose space becomes a double-height communal area — a place for gathering, informal use and school events. Above the new dining hall, an open square is formed with access to the library, allowing the library to become more than a closed room: it becomes part of the wider life of the school.
The new library is positioned on the mezzanine level, with a direct connection to the outdoor square and the terrain. In this way, the specific qualities of the site — the slope, the difference in height and the relationship with the landscape — are used to create a space that is not only functional, but also spatially distinctive.
The extension of the second floor brings new subject-teaching classrooms, cabinets, sanitary facilities and a corridor with an expanded area for exhibitions and similar events. This part of the school is conceived as a quieter teaching layer, while the more communal and dynamic contents are developed below, closer to the entrance, the dining hall and the outdoor spaces.
Special attention is also given to the energy renovation of the existing building envelope. The façades and roofs that are not affected by demolition or extension are also reconstructed; a new layer of thermal insulation is added, the existing brise-soleils are removed and motorised shutters are introduced on the south-eastern façade.
For me, this project is not only an extension of the school in square metres, but an attempt to give the existing building logic, flow and dignity. To give children more space, but also better spaces. To allow the school to expand not only physically, but to become more open, more accessible and better adapted to contemporary education.
