There is a story that Duiker could only get permission to build his Open-Air School on a site that was largely hidden from view by buildings, so that it would not clash too much with its surroundings in this well-too neighbourhood. Whatever Duiker himself may have felt about the enclosed site on which he was to build the school, there is no doubt that the glass building would have been very vulnerable in an entirely open setting (even though traffic noise was not yet a problem at that time). The protective enclosure of the massive blocks surrounding the building emphasizes its openness rather than vice-versa, while the proximity to the untidy backs of the dwellings with their small gardens and balconies, combined with the informal atmosphere of this palace of glass, strengthens the feeling of living in a community…[+]