Bellahøj School

Contemporary learning spaces

Bellahøj Skole will be converted and the capacity of the school will be increased by one form and 112 recreation centre places. These are two individually challenging assignments, given that the school is preservation worthy in Class 2 – and must also be in full operation throughout the design engineering and performance period.

During the conversion, we will work with both physical building recovery and modernisation, so that the school can meet the requirements for current and future educational methodologies. There must be room and space for teaching differentiation, inclusion and learning through physical activity. Here it is especially important to incorporate synergies and see opportunities in the existing framework of an architecturally very fine school.

2 Lack of accessibility
There is only one arrival option. There is a lack of relation to outdoor areas. Lack of zonal division.

3 Many m2 on a small plot
Gymnasium and communal areas, basic rooms, toilets, depots and hallway area

4 Stacked for new building
The new school building is stacked and positioned so that the schoolyard appears more cohesive.

5 Façade
Façade with a materiality that gives something back to the schoolyard. Windows with a motif that supports play and learning.

6 Sports Delta
The new feature – the Sports Delta – allows for more arrival options, which creates safety and identity at the school and in the area. The Sports Delta connects the new school building with the rest of the school.

7 Development zones
Different development zones allow for the division of play facilities for small and older children.

User-driven development process

We work in a visionary and creative manner with materialities and transitions which, in a distinct design language, create coherence and wholeness in aesthetics and functionalities in the building stock of the school.

Based on the City of Copenhagen’s manual for user involvement in school building projects, we are engaged in a user-driven development process in which we carefully map the school’s current qualities and strengths, while also acquiring knowledge of challenges and barriers to a well-functioning pedagogical everyday life.

We collect the user groups’ input on visions and wishes for the future life of the school, and we systematically try out proposed solutions in relevant user forums. On this basis, we acquire solid knowledge of the school’s everyday life and needs as a basis for meaningful design of the large-scale extension of both learning and leisure facilities.