In Sydhavnen (South Harbour), a district of Copenhagen, you can find a school quite unlike any other. The architecture reflects the school’s vision of being a binding factor between the city, the harbour and the community.
A meeting place, open to the entire community
JJW Arkitekter, the firm that designed the school building, had a clear aim in mind. It was intended to be not just a place of learning, but above all a meeting place, open to the entire community. The starting point was to create a physical link with the city, designed to stimulate the interaction between students, their families and the general public. And it succeeded.
The first and second storeys include areas intended to be used as practice rooms, music rooms and eating areas, and they are also accessible to the public. A large outdoor staircase invites people to meet one another and establishes the physical link with the harbour, which acts as an additional external room. The space on the roofs is used to lay out playgrounds where everyone can enjoy sports and recreational activities. Under the top storey, red Rockpanel Colours boards were mounted, helping to give a warm light to the life under the roof.
Project architect Lars Lindeberg is happy to explain: “Just like the city itself, the building comprises a tiered array of public, semi-public and private areas with overlapping functions in various heights and dimensions. This diversity responds to the needs of the various age groups in the school and provides areas for gatherings, traditional education, group tasks and individual activities.”
