[Focus] Schools

Do you remember your math teacher? Or do you remember the actual classroom? According to modern studies, the environment is just as important as the teacher when it comes to education. Health, concentration and results are all factors with major improvement thanks to a modern environment containing lots of natural light. A successful example of this is the S-house in Halmstad University, and the building achieved the certification Miljöbyggnad Silver.

Architecture and music have a lot in common, let’s take patterns as an example. Architecture it’s a lot about shapes and forms, and music about rhythm and notes. The notion of pattern is the same. Another notion that also goes hand in hand with patterns is consonance, that’s how you’d like to look at architecture, but also when listening to music.

As we’re education students in this era called “the Information Age”’, we need to be considerate to the lightning-pace of modern markets. We need to armor our students with the right tools in order to simply keep up. The theory of the 21st century learning skills are divided into 12 skills, with all one quality in common – internet. Skærbæk Skole in Denmark is designed in consideration of these different skills, divided into the three categories; 1) Learning skills, 2) Literacy skills and 3) Life skills.

Oxelöskolan in the middle of Sweden is a place filled with creativity. The school’s focus is on artsy activities, and as soon as you step inside the building you can feel the air of originality. Theatre, dance, music, vocals, art and form are all subjects practiced in this building of creativity. Students can definitely expect a both intense and rewarding education.

“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.

Universally designed to accommodate everyone – Torvbråten Skole is a place both for learning, and to learn from. There’s sometimes a narrow sliver on cognitive development, traditional subjects such as match and reading are often thought of when it comes to children’s education. Learning is not only academic, it’s also social and emotional. The school set high environmental standards, both regarding the environmental architecture and social sustainability.

The media building was designed by LINK Arkitektur and completed in 2021. Volda University College has around 500 media students, split between six different bachelor programmes. This represents a real boost for education and the future, as media plays an increasingly important role in society. The building’s clear environmental focus is reflected in the choice of material for the exterior cladding – recycled Hydro CIRCAL aluminium – which has one of the lowest carbon footprints on the market.

Great architecture does not solely come from creative ideas, but also from a collaboration with everyone involved in the project. Metal builders, entrepreneurs and those who’ll use the space. Baggeboskolan is an example of collaborative architecture and has received the prestigious construction award "Construction of the Year" in Sweden.

The new Bagartorp School in Solna opened in August 2021. The school now teaches 360 students in fresh new premises that provide an ideal foundation for learning and development. It is also the first Nordic Swan ecolabelled school In Stockholm, proving that it has one of the lowest environmental impacts in the sector. The project uses glass facades and windows from Sapa.

There are many reasons why we should always think of restoration when it comes to “new” projects. One is the historical value of a building, we can learn a lot from old buildings in terms of history, architecture, design and the old way of living. Another reason is sustainability. We must be considerate to the resources we already have, and make sure we contribute to a circular economy.