Architecture and design practice Henning Larsen won the competition to design Denmark's first Nordic Swan Ecolabel primary school. Working in collaboration with SKALA Architects, BO-HUS, ETN Arkitekter, Autens and MOE, the team's proposal is made to ensure the school becomes a healthy and productive learning environment for all its students. The project is designed to become the "house of the city" as a new landmark on Lolland-Falster.
Located in Sundby, the new primary school will express "dignity and quality" through a series of flexible indoor and outdoor spaces. It's design aspires to strengthen and build a bridge between the local community, Sundby's associations, sports and cultural life. For the program, the school will include such as a library, café, sports activities and a music school that are centrally located. The layout aims to invite the local community inside, forming the setting for events throughout the day.
Eva Ravnborg, Project Director at Henning Larsen, noted that, "We decided early in the creative process that the new school had to be one with the landscape and that the field we work in is between learning and landscape. It is not just about the learning that takes place in the building, but the entire route to and from the school, and the way the school connects to the local community." The project will include space for around 580 children and 100 employees spread over two floors.
The Nordic Swan Ecolabel is awarded based on a variety of environmental considerations that include both sustainability factors such a low-emissions, energy consumption, and waste as well as other health factors such as ventilation, daylight, noise, and chemical exposure. As the team states, the new school in Sundby complies with the energy requirements for low energy class 2020 according to BR18. The façade, interior panels and terrace boards are Nordic Ecolabelled and trace-certified according to FSC or PEFC.
News via Henning Larsen