In the early summer of 2021, Kragh&Berglund, Sweco Architects, KPC, and Autens designed a proposal for the competition for a school of the future in the newly established neighborhood Nye outside of Aarhus.
The result was a circular schoolyard in close dialogue with the landscape that contains spaces for learning both inside and outside.
The approach to the landscape and the architecture was inspired by the circles that define Nye’s structural plan and help divide the town into little pockets. The resulting design was a circular schoolyard with a diameter of 150 m. that contains activity areas, fitness stations, and outdoor classrooms. The circle also serves as a trail connecting all the school’s different branches and leading into the surrounding residential areas and the school’s future playing field. The schoolyard thus becomes a gathering point for the entire neighborhood.
The circular activity loop around the school leads into five different outdoor spaces, each of which constitutes its own distinct universe. The spaces are themed according to their particular landscape and educational purposes in a way that changes the experience of the outdoor areas as one moves from the preschool section to that of the upper classes. The schoolyard is designed as a landscape for activities and learning that offer students as well as visitors an interesting and colorful experience of the landscape.
