Go! Campus Noord Sint-Niklaas
Education
A compact, multifunctional campus bringing together kindergarten, primary and secondary education, adult education and the pupil guidance centre (CLB). Within the same Scholen van Vlaanderen competition framework, our design for the GO! Campus in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe was also selected as a winning proposal.
Campus Noord occupies a key position at the rear of Sint-Niklaas station, where infrastructure and fragmented urban typologies currently form a barrier between neighbourhood and city. The design is rooted in a careful reading of this context and deliberately positions the new school as an urban catalyst: an open, permeable campus that reconnects north and south while contributing to the broader redevelopment of the station area.
The campus is conceived as a compact ensemble with a limited footprint, maximising space for de-sealing, greening and water. A blue-green structure forms the backbone of the design, translated into public routes, climate-adaptive playgrounds and the reintroduction of water as both a landscape feature and an educational element. In this way, the school presents a strong green identity and becomes embedded within the wider urban and ecological network of Sint-Niklaas North.
The different educational institutions are organised in clearly legible volumes, each with its own address and scale. The primary school engages directly with the neighbourhood via Slachthuisstraat, while the secondary school is oriented towards the station and the city. Adult education and the CLB occupy a clear and autonomous position within the ensemble. The careful interweaving of functions encourages encounter and collaboration, without compromising the distinct identity of each school.
A central, stacked external circulation structure forms the heart of the campus. This inclusive framework connects the various volumes and programmes, acts as a shared meeting space and embodies the pedagogical vision of learning through movement and wellbeing. Interior spaces are organised around light-filled, green atria that provide orientation, flexibility and a strong relationship with the surrounding landscape. Outside school hours, this stacked structure doubles as an external foyer for the multipurpose spaces. It becomes the face of Campus North, activating the wider school as a community hub for the neighbourhood.
The outdoor spaces are conceived as climate-responsive playgrounds tailored to different age groups. Green play areas, water infiltration zones and activated roofs together form a layered learning and play landscape that evolves with both climate and school life. Beyond school hours, the campus remains active as a neighbourhood anchor, with shared use of sports and multi-purpose facilities.
Campus Noord Sint-Niklaas is thus conceived as more than a school: a city-embedded learning environment that brings together education, landscape and public space, and gives a renewed identity to Sint-Niklaas North.
