The schools most urgently in need of renovation are those built in the “concrete architecture” style of the 1970s construction wave. These cubic structures were not designed with energy efficiency or modern building management in mind. Their current renovation needs depend heavily on factors such as the original construction quality and the level of maintenance invested over the decades.
Architecturally, these 50-year-old schools share common traits: they reflect the educational ideals of the industrial era, leading to a “corridor school culture.” Long hallways lined with classrooms were designed for front-facing, teacher-centered instruction, aimed at discipline and order.
Modern school buildings as the “Third Teacher”
These “learning factories,” built for rigid 45-minute lessons, dominated Germany’s educational landscape for decades. Today, energy renovations present an opportunity not only to improve building performance but also to reimagine spaces to support modern pedagogy. Flexible layouts can now enable group work, individual support, and self-directed learning.
Experts increasingly refer to the learning environment as a “third teacher” (2). Key features include flexible classrooms, breakout spaces, and adaptable furniture. Schools should also be designed with connections to nature: outdoor classrooms, school gardens, and easy access to green and sports facilities. Moreover, school campuses can serve as vibrant community hubs by opening gyms, cafeterias, auditoriums, and multipurpose rooms to the public.
Effective climate control: essential for renovated schools
Creating optimal learning environments also requires effective indoor climate solutions. Unlike the corporate world, where “new work” concepts dominate discussions, the importance of good working conditions in schools is often overlooked.
Indoor air quality in classrooms is a prime example: traditional window ventilation no longer meets modern standards, especially as students spend hours in relatively small rooms. Hybrid ventilation solutions are therefore recommended in renovations — combining centrally controlled systems for base ventilation with the option for manual window use.
This raises pressing questions for municipalities: How can school renovations be realized? What challenges lie ahead? To answer these, let’s examine a successful project in the town of Lichtenau, Paderborn district — a long-standing model community for renewable energy and sustainable building.
Case study: Klima-Campus Lichtenau
It began in the 1990s with what was then Europe’s largest onshore wind farm. Today, Lichtenau generates ten times more renewable energy than it consumes.
When Günter Voß took office as Climate Protection Manager in 2016, the municipality’s largest property, a secondary school built in 1973, was in urgent need of renovation. Voß, formerly managing director of the Institute for Energy-Efficient Building Renovation (IGL), brought valuable experience to the task.
Until 2018, there was no funding available for school renovation. Then, almost by chance, Voß and colleagues - including the municipality’s chief architect, Kordula Böhner, and utility director Hermann Dickgerber - discovered a competition launched by North Rhine-Westphalia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs. The program sought exemplary ideas for municipal climate protection, with funding for holistic, greenhouse gas-reducing strategies.
Lichtenau submitted its “Klima-Campus” concept, centered on the renovated secondary school. The jury selected it as one of 25 outstanding municipal projects. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia provided €8.3 million in funding, supplemented by several NRW.Bank loans - totaling approximately €13.3 million.
The result: the school and its surroundings were transformed into the Klima-Campus Lichtenau, saving around 250 tons of CO₂ annually (3).
