Located in Moscow's suburban Vidnoye town, the First Quarter housing estate accommodates a new school. It is a joint project of Brusnika architecture studio, Russian-based Meganom practice, Mont landscape design office, and Umnaya Shkola (Smart School), the centre for educational systems design.

Following the quarter masterplan, the school building continues the line of the estate. Linked with the houses by a pedestrian walkway leading to the central square inside the quarter and abutting the school entrance on the other side, the walkway will become a venue for celebrations and school assemblies and a recreational space to relax, talk to friends or take a short stroll between the classes.

The complex shape of the plot and its dynamic relief with a marked slope presented a challenge to the project. To level off the vertical drop and keep to the human size in construction, the architects opted for an alternating number of stories, a non-linear form, and siting the building at a slight angle to the plot. The school front facade is three floors high, with the first level hidden due to the relief drop. It moves the main entrance to the first floor, equalising its pedestrian axis with the quarter. The part of the building facing the motorway is five stories high. To accommodate a park between the school and residential houses meant placing the building deeper inside the plot. Upon the project, the school stadium will be available to residents in the evenings.

The school facade has a rigid grid prompted by its inner space classroom division. The two-colour scheme in architectural concrete features the monochrome greyish-beige and the same shade speckled with colour. The windows framed with anodised aluminium contrast the walls.

The school interior promotes flexibility and readiness to embrace changes - either to the curriculum, the teaching approach, or educational formats. The focal point is an open atrium with a rostrum staircase and a stage right behind the main entrance on the first floor. It aims to replace the conventional assembly hall and can accommodate a range of events, such as concerts, celebrations, or plays. An adjoining gym for PE lessons and various workouts is also a venue for rehearsals. The atrium cuts through the building from the first to the third floor, with a glass roof crowning it to maximise daylight. On both sides of the atrium sit middle and upper school classrooms and a study hall for students on the upper floor. The primary school block is on the ground and first floors, with independent facilities to separate it from the senior students’ area. The ground floor also hosts a canteen and a library. The primary school block leads to the green inner yard with a shade tent, benches, a swing and a table. Next to it is an orchard with tactile rocks, bird feeders, birdhouses and bug hotels, and an experimental vegetable garden to enable children to grow different plants.

The park on the school premises extends learning outdoors, encouraging students to explore the environment and develop diverse skills. For convenience, the landscaped area divides into private and open-access parts. The civic zone houses the school stadium with workout and table tennis facilities used for PE lessons in the daytime and sports activities for the First Quarter residents in the evening. The private park area is a rich learning environment for junior and middle school children, aimed at building skills, experimenting, playing and taking risks. It features a musical instruments zone, a tactile maze with a walking track, a nature trail with balance equipment, a space with trampolines and eco-plastic design complete with pipes, a slide and a swing, a genuine bungee jumping facility and a range of various playgrounds built on the slope - with swings and hammocks, hopscotch and functional marking for different games, and a chess table. The areas also offer recreational spaces with charging stations for mobile phones and clever folding deckchairs.

The school in the First Quarter is an aspiring architecture landmark and a large-scale civic space for residents.

Architecture and layouts: Brusnika. Design, Meganom
Consultancy: Umnaya Shkola, educational systems design centre
Landscape design: Mont design architecture office
Development: Brusnika

Volumetric data
Plot area: 22,7 thousand m2
Total floor area: 27 thousand m2
Number of storeys: 5
Number of places at school: 1675
Number of classes: 67