Harbour International & Bilingual School of Rotterdam (Harbour IBSR) is part of the eight-year pilot project “Bilingual Education” of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Due to the nature of the pilot project, Harbour Bilingual will grow into a complete “dual-stream” school with two groups per year. The ultimate goal is to combine the Harbour International School and Harbour Bilingual and develop an international campus. However, in the case of a dual-stream school, a shortage of up to six classrooms was projected. In the short term, the number of classrooms had to be increased. The question was: how could more classrooms be built on a site located in the middle of a residential area? Together with the municipality of Rotterdam, Drees & Sommer (then BOAG) examined whether expanding the building by six classrooms was realistic. This started with an overall plan of requirements for the next five to six years, supporting the school's growth and its need for classrooms. The plan comprises an outline of the space available and a number of sketches showing the possibilities for expansion. In addition, we explored different options and provided a financial framework for the available possibilities.

Drees & Sommer suggested semi-permanent housing with units that blend in well with the surroundings and satisfy the principles of “Frisse Scholen” class B. Partly because of its circular nature, this solution was very well received by the municipality of Rotterdam. Following multiple public tendering procedures, we supervised the selection of suppliers for the semi-permanent units on behalf of Stichting BOOR as well as the subsequent selection of contractors for the adjustments that had to be made to the design. During the construction of the units, Drees & Sommer acted as project manager, executive director, and supervisor.  

In 2021, an additional playground was required. In close consultation with the municipality of Rotterdam. Stichting BOOR and, naturally, Harbour ISBR once again commissioned Drees & Sommer to coordinate the tendering, fitting, and installation of a customized unit.