At the end of October 2010 a Friedrichshain-based school - supported by a funding program for children with autism - moved into the old, yet newly refurbished, kindergarten building at Marchlewskistrasse. One month later, a citizens’ initiative, INTEGRAL e.V., which offers a meeting place for handicapped persons, also moved to this location. In order to meet the special demands of autistic children, play combinations were newly developed and planed for the outdoor premises by the Lechner landscape architects, as represented by Frau Lechner and Frau Ahrenberg. The school received a new play combination designated “Schulhof in Balance“. It incorporated various levels of difficulty and was designed for climbing, sliding, balancing and crawling. A sew-saw, climbing wall, fence and lots of space for hiding in wooden pipes was also added.
The Sonnenhof (or “sun court”), an enclosed courtyard, serves as an open classroom. It features an extra long bookcase with lots of compartments and a large chalk board for teachers to use during instruction. A bench that is wrapped around a tree offers seats as do 12 so-called “month-cubes” that children can sit on and carry around themselves to other locations.