Dormitory building of Pitzelstaetten HBLA, Klagenfurt

摘要

Continuous growth Generally speaking, these days boarding schools are not in fashion, Apart, that is, from those offering a special kind of education that attracts pupils who live a distance from the school that is simply too great for a daily commute. The Hoehere Bundeslehranstalt (HBLA) Pitzelstaetten, a certified "environment school" that uses as its motto "We live sustainability", is one such facility. The focus on agriculture and nutrition and on professions in the areas of forestry and farming has long attracted young female students -and from the 1990s also young men - from outlying areas. The school appeals to students from as far away as Lienz and is growing continuously, not only thanks to the range of subjects offered. Founded in the 1950s, the HBLA Pitzelstaetten occupies an estate of the same name to the north of Klagenfurt, the oldest part of which, a tower-like granary that was converted into a library on the access road, Glantalstrasse, represents the remnants of an old castle dating from 1529. The complex around the small eighteenth century manor house was extended in stages. A residential and school building was added back in the 1950s. Following further extensions in the 1970s and 1990s the central manor house was flanked by two solid but architecturally unambitious complexes on the west and east sides, the western one was extended southwards by adding a dining hall and kitchen and a dormitory building, creating a mesh of buildings of different styles and aspirations that developed over the course of time.