Photo: Dudok Architectuur Centrum

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Montessori School Center
1984-1985 / Wilhelm Gerhard Elshuis

Naarderstraat 100, Hilversum

A school for nursery and primary education was built in 1984-1985 on the site of the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk on Naarderstraat, commissioned by the Catholic Education Hilversum Foundation. The designer of the school was W.G. Elshuis, who had previously designed the Augustinusschool en Hummeltjeshof (1970) and the Paulusschool (1979) in Hilversum. The existing school building on the plot was demolished after construction to make way for a spacious playground (now partly a parking lot).

The school building consists of playful volumes that are staggered in height. The facade is made up of large glass corner windows and glass bricks in between. Striking are the light green (roof) edges that end the facades. A number of roof lanterns provide light in the core of the building. The school has a structuralist floor plan with a fixed grid size, which is characteristic of the construction period. In 1997 the building on the west side was expanded with a few classrooms by Buro te Duits from Hilversum.

The condition of the building and the energy-consuming use mean that the building is in the danger zone of being demolished.