AART Architects and Schonherr Landscape recently won the competition for the new Campus Park Skara in Sweden, including a 10,000m2 school and a 49 acre green park. Skara Municipality appointed the two teams to carry on the city’s proud school tradition with their design located in the heart of the city. The winning proposal strives to excite the students’ curiosity and desire to learn by using the architecture as an innovative learning platform, stimulating their senses and social interaction. More architects’ description after the break.
Interactive Learning Elements
By broadening the architectural scope, the school creates an engaging learning environment. Based on the students’ different needs, the school promotes different teaching styles, as the floors, walls and furniture are designed as sensuous and pedagogical elements which can be included in the daily schooling.
Likewise, the school has integrated touchscreens at the public square and weather stations in the park, so the students easily can gather data about the building´s energy consumption and the local climate. In addition, a mini zoo and science garden allow the students to get their hands dirty and study the vegetation and animals in a natural environment.
The Public Square
The school is designed as an atrium building rooted in a public square, creating an inclusive and cohesive learning environment. The atrium creates visual contact between the floors, while the public square is designed as the heart of the school, embedding the school’s values. With its media center, café, scene and close contact with the green park, the public square creates a vibrant base where the students and teachers can share knowledge, meet for a cosy chat and develop common traditions such as student concerts or theatrical performances.
