Ängsdals School / STADSTUDIO AB

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Ängsdal School is located near the bracket of the Öresund Bridge and is one of the first buildings visible upon entering Sweden from Denmark. The complex geometry of the site, coupled with its proximity to the highway and railway, presented several design challenges. The building has a geometric and contemporary articulated design with its different volumes interacting consequently with the inner and outer environment. Designed like a shell around the schoolyard, it protects from traffic noise, and it is planned to accommodate a capacity of 350 students.The main objective was to create an environment that promotes learning. Whereas the classrooms are located around the outer rim of the school, its center space forms a vertical core, around which revolve a multitude of meeting places for pupils to thrive. Spatially, the core incorporates the vertical communication system and is designed to increase sightlines between floors, while reducing the number of corridors.The outdoor facade materials are few and chosen with durability in mind. A protecting concrete coat towards the outer rim lends a softer look thanks to being cast with incorporated bricks, which confers a patterned, rather textile-like appearance to the whole, contrasted by a wooden facade towards the courtyard. Wooden panels covered with ribs provide relief and shadows and soften the hardness of the concrete and outer environment.The schoolyard is designed as a layered landscape, stretching from the ground over to the roof terraces, and by doing so, it weaves in outdoor recreational spaces with indoor learning functions. The diversity of communication paths encourages numerous movement patterns and promotes a sense of cohesion throughout the school. As an appendix to the main volume, the gymnastic hall embraces the eastern side of the yard. Its roofed terrace is tilted to address traffic noise while also making the yard both more visible and more accessible from the ground.Organisationally, it houses creative functions: the art classroom, and the media library, and on the ground floor it opens towards the dining hall. The choice of inner materials follows the same logic in exemplifying the hierarchy of spaces. The concrete pillars slabs and beams, especially visible around the core, unveil how the building is constructed. The surfaces that users hold sit, or lean on are made of refined wood panels or ribs. Timbers’ acoustical quality and natural warmth confer a sense of intimacy and quiet in contrast with the vivid open core.