Ravnebakke School in Nye

New school supports a sustainable neighborhood

This project is designed by Kjaer & Richter - a part of Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects.

The new sustainable neighbourhood in Nye introduces the Ravnbakkeskolen Learning and Activity Building, an innovative educational facility that serves as a local and social hub for both school, leisure, and cultural activities. The project's conceptual basis pays homage to nature and the naturally grown communities in and around nature.

The school emerges as a 'city within the city', nestled in nature and on the edge of the urban area. Divided into smaller houses forming clusters, each with its own functional characteristics focusing on music, food, creativity, and physical activity. In between the clusters lies the greenhouse, acting as a natural center and the school's collective 'heart'. The greenhouse binds the clusters together and brings nature into the building. Here, the city floor blends with the green expanses of nature, showcasing the unique location and the 'Nye' community. The clusters create well-defined areas for different age groups, integrating leisure activities and providing easy access to the age-specific learning environments. The sports hall, dance studio, and association facilities can easily be used outside school hours.

The school stands out in the city with its 'roof-top tower', welcoming visitors and visible from afar. Related smaller-scale stair towers house covered terraces and workshops, showcasing decentralized entrances. Openings between the houses provide views of the landscape, the city, and the nearby outdoor spaces. The stair towers create well-defined outdoor learning spaces at all entrances and ensure direct access to nearby outdoor areas from all floors. 'Pockets of nature' between the houses, green roof terraces, and the tower's roof-top make nature present on all levels. Outdoor bases spread like ripples from the Greenhouse and stair towers to the green areas around the building, where children learn about nature in nature. Thus, the landscape is a cornerstone of the school, where 20% of learning will take place in outdoor learning environments.

Sustainability

The project is certified to DGNB Silver. Sustainability has been a key design driver in shaping the school into a robust and forward-thinking building. Concrete sustainable measures such as reuse of surplus soil on-site, easy access to covered outdoor learning spaces, selection of natural and sustainable materials, innovative solutions, and minimized painting works/gassing contribute to a tangible experience of sustainability.

Excerpts from the judge's deliberation:

'The proposal's architecture and main idea are clear and appear sharp and engaged, with the concept of the building fitting in very sympathetically as "a small city within the city", with the individual clusters downscaled around the central greenhouse in the best possible way.'

'This is a very visionary proposal, which in line with the overall vision for Nye, points towards the future; both in terms of the proposal's profile as an engaged sustainable construction and civil engineering project and simultaneously with the creation of architectural quality at a high level. The proposal particularly focuses on creating the best possible visual and direct contact with the local community and at the same time with the larger surrounding landscape features.’