New soundproof windows for Anne Frank and Eichendorf schools
23.08.2024 – Primary school children need to understand exactly how a word ends when learning to read and acquire language. This not only requires silence in the classroom itself - there must also be no noise from outside to drown out the pronunciation and distract the little ones. Pupils at the Eichendorff School and many classes at the Anne Frank School will hear less noise from outside after the end of the summer vacations: Soundproof windows have been installed at both schools, which also have an insulating effect in the heat and cold. The work was commissioned and coordinated by Stadtwerke subsidiary GBM Service GmbH in collaboration with the city's building construction management department.
The replacement of the 200 windows at Eichendorff School began during the Easter vacations and is now being completed. The single-glazed windows here had not been replaced since the school opened in the 1950s. Now only the painting work remains to be done before the first day of school. The last newly installed window frames also need to be plastered. This work will be carried out from the outside in the first few weeks after the vacations, as it will not disrupt lessons.
The storms in Bavaria in June delayed the window replacement process at the Anne Frank School: the supplier had to shut down its production following storm damage. Delivery was delayed by a good three weeks, although most of this was made up during installation. The 20 window strips, each with five panes, have now been replaced in component B of the building. However, there is still some plastering work to be done, but this will not affect the use of the rooms. Some of the remaining work will be completed during the fall vacations at the latest. The windows in the other parts of the building will be replaced one by one during the coming school vacations.
Window replacement subsidized by the state of Hesse
"The soundproof windows are our structural contribution to making it easier for primary school children to start reading," says Offenbach's City Planning Officer and Head of Education, Paul-Gerhard Weiß. "The best lessons reach their limits when the final syllables can no longer be understood over the noise of an airplane flying overhead. Especially when learning to read, it is important that girls and boys can hear all the sounds clearly and that the last syllables are not swallowed up in the noise of the aircraft. It is therefore pleasing that we have created good conditions here."
The replacement of the windows at both schools is being funded by the funding program launched by the state of Hesse as a result of the NORAH noise impact study. According to the relevant guidelines, this is intended to finance measures that serve to prevent and compensate for possible negative consequences of aircraft noise at Frankfurt Airport on the reading performance of primary school pupils.
The total cost of replacing the windows at the Eichendorff School is around 2.7 million euros, of which around 1.7 million euros was approved as funding. At the Anne Frank School, the replacement in component B cost around 630,000 euros, with funding amounting to around 470,000 euros. The difference between the costs and the funding is due to the fact that only soundproof windows in classrooms are eligible for funding. However, windows were also replaced in the buildings, for example in the stairwell or in the toilets.
