Skapaskolan is a 5000m2 IGPH certified passive-house that is constructed with prefabricated steel modules. it is home to a unique school that specializes in activity-based learning with an emphasis on health and technology. The interior of the school is organized into 3 rings like the growth rings of a tree: The heart, which is composed of makers-spaces such as a workshop, production studio and lab. These makers spaces are directly connected to collaboration spaces, such as the library, café and amphitheater. The organization of the “heart” embodies the creative and collaborative essence of the school. The ring around the heart is called the “break-out zone.” Break-out zones are areas where a classroom (or learning studio in this case) “breaks-out” and becomes a study area for working in small groups. These spaces function as extensions of the learning studios and replace the traditional corridor arrangement of conventional schools. The outer ring of the program is composed of “learning studios.” Skapaskolan’s curriculum is based upon individual and small group work and there are no lecture-style classrooms. Instead, the rooms are broken up into different types of seating areas, each designed for a different type of communication. As a result, the rooms function like a studio with several workshops or lessons happening in different areas at the same time. The exterior of the building is a continuation of the hills in the surrounding landscape. The ground on the east side of the project meets the building and becomes a roof-top playground over a partially submerged gym. A wooden fence surrounds this playground and blends with the façade to follow the lines of the building up to the roof so that the landscape, playground and roof are part of the same continuous gesture. The gesture finishes with a long green roof sloping down towards the west. The rest of the roof is covered in solar panels. A gentle curve in the façade was added to follow the curve of the street so that the building sits comfortably in its surroundings. This facade is also lined with glass partitions at the entrance level to activate the street and create an open, connected relationship to the community. To further support this relationship, the main entrance leads directly into the “heart” of the school.
