Lamminrahkan
koulukeskus
A meeting place between the forest and the city
Location
Kangasala, Finland
Function
Primary and secondary school, daycare
Scope
17.000m2
Assignment
Open competition 2020
Result
Honorary award
Collaboration
Tiina Latva,
concept designer
Laura Gröndahl,
artist designer
Visualisation
Johannes Koskela
Lamminrahkala is a modern wooden school center in the heart of the new Lamminrahka neighbourhood. The building draws a series of spaces between the natural surroundings and the urban scape from its location in the meeting point of these two. In the heart of the buildings the green courtyards open up in the first floor towards the forest bringing nature all the way into the lobbies and common spaces which from the other side connect to the street.
The design gets inspiration from the ancient Nordic forests: the buildings remind to ancient boulders from the glacial area and the yards follow the shapes carved by the running creeks. From the inside of the buildings, an engaging and full of mysteries inner world opens, designed to feed curiosity and encourage learning and inspired by the intriguing caves appearing naturally in an ancient boulder. The diverse and flexible indoor spaces create suited environments for the different students through their shapes and haptic materials – wood, clay plasters and textile - meant to awake the senses and create a healthy school environment.
The façade’s street level consists of a communal artwork in which the children and even the neighbours imprint into clay panels something meaningful to themselves as if they were fossils of modern times. Room for communal art is also placed throughout the indoor spaces. These experiences make the users feel the building as theirs by participating in the creation of its identity.
The climber curtain walls along the south and west facades create a strong identity to the school and protect it from overheating during summertime as well as sieve beautifully daylight. The plants tell about the changing of seasons and become a relevant part of the spatial experience indoors and outdoors.
