School turned inside out

Challenge

Denmark’s closure on 11 March 2020 was the beginning of a new reality for the country’s educational institutions, where digital learning, gradual reopening, and local closures became part of everyday life.1 With the new restrictions, general guidelines had to be translated into local conditions at the many, very differently designed schools. It was a process that challenged staff and students while also testing the physical environment.

Solution

Silkeborg Gymnasium, a high school in the city of Silkeborg, has a floor plan typical of the Danish school building of the ’70s with a clear division between circulation, classrooms, and common areas. The high school is structured around a central common area, which houses a canteen, classrooms, toilets, etc. A number of building wings extend from this common area. The wings are divided into subject areas, and on each side of a central distribution corridor are the classrooms, all of which have access to the outdoors.

For the high school to be reopened in March 2021, a number of restrictions and physical

Taxonomy

Sphere: Education/Institutions

Timescale: Short Term measures needed to be implemented by the school’s management and staff. The design of the building, with its large facade openings and numerous secondary entrances, made it possible to meet the restrictions within the school’s layout. This was done by utilising the building’s existing floor plan and reorganising its circulation to solve the logistical and spatial challenges. The high school’s primary entrances and exits were partially closed, and the secondary entrances between the wings were used as new, direct entrances to each individual classroom. Lunch was ordered via an app, and local water posts were installed so that students did not have to fetch water from sinks by the toilets – which often formed a bottleneck. In addition, webcams and screens were installed in classrooms so that students at home could follow the teaching.

The example shows how the design and layout of a building can make it flexible and robust. Its physical framework allowed the circulation to be turned “inside out” so the high school could meet the restrictions without having to invest in major building work.

Type: Interior Design

User Group: Youth, Customers/Users

Each building wing at Silkeborg Gymnasium has direct access to the school’s courtyards

Before COVID-19: main entrances are used for entry and exit

After the introduction of restrictions: entry and exit directly to/from classrooms

Project and location: Various hotels, Denmark

Contributor: The Familien Bühlmann Group

Established: 2020