Allan de Waal discovers in the Ørestad High School a concept in which closed classrooms are almost completely lacking though it does not dispense with the need for teachers. By architectural means, the school has been transformed into an open space in which different modes of teaching can be practiced at the same time.

The high school building in Ørestad, Copenhagen’s new district, has cut a boundary transcending dash: On the one side, the school has been awarded a prize for its exemplary architecture, on the other, the building is seen as a gain in school education and has often been cited in international debates as an example of a school building encouraging the education programme or even becoming a part of it.

Standing on the highest floor level and looking down though the four twisting levels to the multifunctional foyer one might almost feel a sensation of vertigo. But that dizziness is not only caused by the fact that some pupils cannot resist the temptation of sliding down the curving stair-rails nor by the vastness and brightness of the assembly hall and the open view of the surrounding landscape. The main reason is the clear feeling that, with the Ørestad High School, a new approach to up-to-date education has become a visible and tangible reality.

Free “lounges” are formed by coloured cushions on the “roofs” of the clyndric auditoria. Apart from glass-walled classrooms there are open group areas with computer desks on all floors. But what is the advantage of all that openness and visibility? Is there the hope that the unrestrained freedom of movement will en passant produce bandwagon effects, so to speak?

Not at all. The aim is rather to encourage the teachers to reflect on which teaching method is best in a given situation and which particular space is needed for that – maybe classical teacher-centred teaching, maybe group work, or maybe interdisciplinary teaching in one of the cylindrical multi-purpose rooms. The high school is dimensioned for accommodating roughly 1,000 pupils and 100 teachers. Although many things are new here and without parallel the teachers are still responsible for teaching their lessons, and the pupils are still responsible for learning and for fulfilling their duties.

Throughout the house, there is a lot of activity. The wide, free-standing spiral stairs serve as meeting points. The private study areas are distributed between the fixed glass walls and the circular shelving systems. Despite the openness, the noise level is moderate. The pupils work intently sitting at the computer desks or round the group work tables even if once in a while there is a lot of “circulation” during which everybody can see watch everything. The teachers have a closed-off staff room that is also used for intimate talks between teachers and pupils. Apart from that, the teachers, whose average age is 40 years, have open workspaces as well. When spending the afternoon in school they are visible to everyone while the pupils relax or do their preparations. In the case of urgent, subject-specific questions, the pupils can approach their teachers anytime.

The building has been designed by Kim Herforth Nielsen one of the three partners of 3XN. In the last years, the architects have applied and refined the principle of the central, open foyer in several office buildings, e. g. the Kronjylland savings bank in Randers (2002), as well as in cultural buildings like the Amsterdam Muziekgebouw (2005). Daylight is allowed in the depths of the buildings by the means of full-height atria providing more freedom in implementing the programme.

From the outside, the Ørestad High School, which stands near a shopping centre and office buildings, is itself somewhat reminiscent of a corporate head office. Revolving vertical glass panels in subdued colours serve as sun screens while long balconies are incised in the façades. In the interior, everything is designed with the aim of blurring the boundaries between work and leisure, between public and privacy as has long since been requested in the wireless, low-hierarchy working environments of the media, culture, or IT industries.

Fakten
Architekten 3XN, Kopenhagen

---

aus Bauwelt 43.2010
Artikel als pdf