Johan Skytte School – focusing on security and greater opportunities for variety

“All our students are everyone’s students”, is the guiding motto of Johan Skytte School in Älvsjö. We respect differences here and work proactively with basic values. Security and the ability to study without disturbance are essential, and our premises play a large part in this. A new school building for students from pre-school class up to year 9 was opened in autumn 2019 at Johan Skytte School. What makes this building special is that it is divided into small communities. In other words, small schools within the larger school. The central aim is to provide creative and secure learning environments for children.

There is a growing need for schools and preschools in Sweden at present, and almost 10 percent of the new schools in Sweden are being built in Stockholm. Johan Skytte School is located in southern Älvsjö. The school serves around 1,200 students from pre-school class up to year 9. It has two separate but adjacent buildings, one for years 7–9 and a relatively newly built school for students from pre-school class up to year 6.

The newer school building is divided into school communities for each year group. Each community has an area of about 400 square metres. The community consists of two base rooms, as large as standard classrooms, plus a study area measuring around 175 square metres. Each community also has a group study room, studio and toilets. Teaching can take different forms in each of the communities, in different learning environments and in different group sizes, to meet the needs of every student. The school is also shoe-free, which means that everyone takes off their shoes before they enter their respective communities.

There is no doubt that creativity is a recurring theme in the architecture of the school. Working alongside the architect, Stadion Arkitekter, artist Jesper Nyrén provided valuable creative input for the project. In particular, his interior artwork was influenced by acoustic requirements. This began with the need for an acoustic wall that would dampen sound levels considerably. But this element also had to blend in and become a natural part of the room. Many people notice that the school is unusually quiet, which also contributes to a good learning environment where students can study in peace.

The choice of light-coloured exterior tiles for the exterior of the school harmonizes with the existing yellow bricks. Outside in the school yard, a large acoustic fence has also been erected to create a calmer atmosphere in the yard, which also allows the outdoor space to be used as a study area. Another feature of the school yard is the planted areas, which are exclusively used to grow edible plants such as herbs, strawberries, redcurrants and apples.

Johan Skytte School is an example of how education and the art of building schools can be improved by working together to create imaginative and varied spaces for learning and well-being.

The Sapa aluminium systems for the school were supplied by Abax.

Photo: Erik Wik

Client: Abax

Products: Facade: Sapa 4150; Windows: Sapa 1086

Architect: Stadion Arkitekter