World Educational Centre "Tor zur Welt"

The “Tor zur Welt” (Gateway to the World) is IBAIBA Internationale Bauausstellung Hamburg’s largest educational construction project and an important contribution to the educational offensive on the Elbe islands. The education centre is open to citizens of all ages and educational levels. It is intended to encourage lifelong learning and cultural exchange and help to improve the transitions between kindergarten, school and professional career.

IBA Hamburg supported the local educational and advisory institutions in establishing an educational landscape with networked educational services. This was intended to increase the social integration opportunities of local residents and make the Elbe islands more attractive as residential locations. The “Tor zur Welt” World Educational Centre will continue to contribute to this beyond the International Building Exhibition: Three existing schools in the Wilhelmsburg district as well as several extra-curricular educational institutions merged to form one campus. At the heart of the new building is a multifunctional centre, which is open to all residents of the district, offering counselling services for families and adult education. The “Tor zur Welt” deliberately broke with institutional boundaries in the education system and was able to initiate numerous cooperation projects between schools and extracurricular partners and create new educational opportunities. Cooperation across institutional boundaries is also expressed in the architecture: as a meeting place, the “Gateway to the World” opens far into the district.