The Green Schoolyards - Kragh Berglund

Category

Climate Adaptation Schools & Play

Location

Stockholm, Sweden

Client

SISAB, Utbildningsförvaltningen Stockholm Municipality

Contract period

2023-

Contact

Maria Höök

Landscape area

Construction cost

Image credits

Kragh Berglund

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On behalf of SISAB and Utbildningsförvaltningen, Kragh Berglund’s Stockholm office has redesigned a total of seven existing schoolyards in Stockholm forming The Green Schoolyards.

1. Oxhagsskolan
2. Elinsborgsskolan
3. Snösätraskolan
4. Solbergaskolan
5. Björngårdsskolan
6. Essingeskolan
7. Brotorpsskolan

Green schoolyards and social sustainability go hand in hand – current research clearly shows that children’s opportunities for inclusive and multifaceted play, physical activity, spaces for recovery, and more gender-equal play are strengthened by planning for green play environments.

School’s outdoor environments form an important foundation for children’s attitudes toward and understanding of nature, and by integrating nature into the design we strengthen their conditions for developing a healthy relationship with it. Many children today lack contact with nature; they have grown up exclusively in hard-surfaced environments and may feel insecure around pinecones and sticks, mud, or insects. Yet a relationship with natural environments offers more than freer play: it supports balance and motor skills, promotes relaxation and concentration, and not least fosters an understanding of how everything is interconnected – that humans are part of nature.

Older schoolyards often have large areas but poor design, with extensive hard-surfaced spaces lacking spatial qualities, and grounds that can feel uninspiring or even frightening – not least for students with neuropsychiatric challenges.

The assignment aims to promote physical activity and inclusive play areas, break up hard-surfaced areas in favour of greener environments, and create opportunities for educational activities.

The vegetation of the schoolyards is one of our most important building blocks for creating an experiential, dynamic, and stimulating outdoor environment. We structure the site to create favourable microclimates that provide shade and reduce urban heat-island effects. The paved areas in the existing schoolyards are supplemented with green islands featuring plants and new, varied topography.

Snösätraskolan

The new elements are primarily composed of natural materials, which are both more environmentally friendly and better suited for play. Through the projects we have developed a strong understanding of how to design robust green play environments that endure over time.

Oxhagsskolan

Brotorpsskolan and Essingeskolan were completed in 2024, and the remaining five were mainly completed in the summer of 2025. During the spring of 2026 the last plantings will be installed.

Elinsborgsskolan

Children from all grade levels at each school were part of the design process, and contributed with fantastic ideas for their new schoolyards. We facilitated design dialogues with both students and teachers, making the final result even more exciting and rewarding for the children.