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Architects: Ola Roald Arkitektur/Holar
- Area: 6000 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Rasmus Hjortshøj
Text description provided by the architects. In 2020, a price and design competition was announced for a new Sami school in Kautokeino. Kautokeino, located in the southern part of Finnmark County, is Norway’s largest Sami municipality and is considered the cultural center of the North Sami area.
Around 90% of the students in Kautokeino speak North Sami as their mother tongue, and the competition brief specified that "Sami's identity, culture, and expression must be reflected in the design of the building. The school should strengthen and develop Sami identity, culture, and language."Furthermore, it was asked that the competition proposals signal Sami identity, both in choice of materials, art and decoration, interior and exterior. Users and visitors should immediately experience the building as a Sami school in Sápmi upon arrival, and the school should accommodate the village also after hours – a vibrant gathering space and grand hall for the inhabitants of Kautokeino.
Designing a building inspired by Sami tradition - The traditional Sami building vernacular is simple and functional in its form, and in its unique harmony with nature and the landscape it is situated within. The Sápmi landscape with its broad horizons and tall skies is the most important room, while the lavvu constitutes the private sphere. Behind the tent canvas, one is protected from the wind and weather and is where the Sami gather for socializing, meals and rest. The circle is an important form in the Sami culture. It’s found in the shape of where the lavvu meets the ground, and in the round opening in the lavvu roof where light and the skies are let inside. The circle is also found in the shape of reindeer enclosures, and in the movement of the reindeer when the herd is running in circular motions. It’s found in the Sami flag, in the joik, in the shape of the traditional dress when the wearer is dancing and in the wheel of the year, consisting in Sami culture of eight seasons. To create a building with a strong circular shape, therefore, was an important architectural approach for us when starting the project.
A contemporary school is a complex building where the program consists of a variety of functions with different spatial requirements that need to be coordinated, operate in parallel, and overlap with each other. These challenges were faced along with the intentions regarding Sami culture, identities and the educational ambitions for the project. The spatial quality of the building, as well as the school’s functionality, is optimized and the circular shape ties together the interior and exterior – just as in the lavvu. Ola Roald / Holar has many years of experience in designing school buildings. Being involved in designing a Sami school has been a new and exciting experience. We have been challenged – and inspired – to find new approaches, and the building has been designed in dialogue with local traditions and the expectations of the local population.
