Bakkegårdsskolen

Prue Chiles

Description

Bakkegårdsskolen in Gentofte near Copenhagen needed a new gymnasium, an extension that was part of the Gentofte Kommune’s school building programme (SKUB) which resulted in an overhaul of its school estate with a mixture of new buildings, refurbishment and extension projects.

The school sits at the heart of a low-lying residential area. The original four-storey brick block is resonant of the early 1950s Scandinavian modernism with its simple brick treatment, windows contained within framed horizontal bands and a low-pitched copper roof. Internally the classrooms are based around a light-filled atrium with elegant handrails framing views throughout the building. A lower building added later contains the homebases for the kindergarten years.

The project started with the school, pupils and parents establishing core values which should be used to guide future developments. These were laid down in a document that informed the collaborative design process with the architects and other stakeholders. The resulting building sits at the heart of the campus, providing physical links between the existing buildings and extending out into the landscape. An angular volume clad in bold colours creates a strikingly contrasting addition. The connection with the existing buildings is where the scheme really excels. Internally, the division between old and new is blurred through narrow connections that lightly touch the existing whilst creating a series of light wells that are resonant of the original building.

The playground has been displaced by the new gymnasium building with its sinews that connect to the older structures, being cleverly relocated to the new roof level. Kragh & Berglund’s landscape works harmoniously with the building, and the angles found in the plan inform the section of the building which flows down to meet the wider school grounds. This single move does more to unify the campus than perhaps anything else. The children are able to access the school grounds from the principal classroom level at first floor. At this raised level, the imposing four-storey edifice of the original building appears reduced in scale to better fit that of the surrounding predominantly two-storey domestic context. The elevation of the playground also connects the children to the wider cityscape by affording them views over the suburban roofs and flat topography of Copenhagen. The scheme is both bold and sensitive. The central move of inventing a topography that flows from inside to outside makes for an immensely inspiring and playful environment in which to learn, and yet this is countered by the understanding and lightness of touch in the renovation of the existing buildings, helping to tie the campus together.