A green school built by reusing what was already there

How BDG Architecten turned an existing campus into a model for sustainable vocational education in Dordrecht.

The main hall during a break, where Rockfon Tropic absorbs sound across the high ceiling above hundreds of moving students.

A school that practices what it teaches

Yuverta runs high schools across the Netherlands where students learn the practical side of food production, agriculture, animal care, gardening and environmental work, with actual greenhouses, animals and gardens used as classrooms. The Dordrecht campus is one of those schools.

BDG Architecten approached the renovation the way the school teaches: instead of demolishing and rebuilding, they reused the existing structures. The result was a campus that stayed within budget, with two new greenhouse areas added on either side of the old auditorium to create a central "orangery" connecting the different parts of the school.

But reusing existing buildings means inheriting whatever acoustic problems they already had.

Different rooms, different demands

A school like Yuverta uses very different spaces every day. Classrooms need speech clarity for teaching. The orangery, busy with students moving between activities, needs sound absorbed across an open shared space.
Changing rooms and showers are full of hard surfaces and humid air, two factors that make standard acoustic solutions unsuitable.

Solving that across one campus meant choosing the right product for each type of space.

Project info

Project name

Yuverta School

Location

Dordrecht, Netherlands

Architecture

BDG Architecten

Installation

VanDijk Afbouwprojecten

Photography

Lucas van der Wee

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Products used

Rockfon® Tropic

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Yuverta School Design by BDG Architecten | Case Studies

The glass facade pulling daylight into a space made calmer by the Rockfon Tropic ceiling.

From classrooms to changing rooms

Across the teaching and shared spaces, BDG Architecten specified Rockfon Tropic for its sound absorption and high light reflection.

"Rockfon Tropic is a well-known and good ceiling plate for us. This has proven itself in the education sector”, said Marco de Jong, architect partner at BDG Architecten.

In the changing rooms and showers, Rockfon Hydroclean was installed for its humidity resistance combined with acoustic absorption.

"With its many hard surfaces, the changing rooms and showers in schools are often very noisy. That is why it is important to look for acoustic ceiling solutions that damp sound reflection, but which are also resistant to the humid conditions in these rooms", said De Jong.

Two products, matched to the conditions of every room they're in.

A classroom with a Rockfon Tropic ceiling supporting speech clarity for teaching.

A busy corridor between classes, where Rockfon Tropic keeps the noise of moving students under control.

“With Rockfon Color-All, we have got everything important to us, a sound-absorbing acoustic ceiling solution with an invisible grid that does not give off any shine”

Jonas Kjellander

— Sweco Architects

A teaching kitchen with industrial ventilation and stainless steel counters, where Rockfon Tropic handles the noise.

A classroom with overhead power outlets and worktables, the Rockfon Tropic ceiling absorbing sound.

Yuverta Dordrecht from outside, the brick building extended with a glass greenhouse-style addition.

Practical curriculum, practical building

Yuverta Dordrecht is now a working example of what sustainable education can look like when the building itself reflects the curriculum.

Also renovating a school where acoustic performance needs to work across very different spaces? Get in touch, and we'll help you find the right approach.