Orestad College, Copenhagen, Denmark

3XNs award winning ("Best building i Scandinavia 2007") Ørestad Gymnasium (upper secondary school) creates a framework for cross-disciplinarity and an extended use of IT-based learning by revolutionizing educational space in a structure without traditional classrooms.Four boomerang shaped storey decks rotate in relation to each other like the shutter of a camera. They form the superstructure; the overall framework of the college, and provide space for the college’s four study zones. Each zone is on one level, providing organisational flexibility, with the option of micro adjustment to create different spaces, learning environments and group sizes. The rotation of the storey decks projects a part of each deck into the high central hall. This part is the so called X-zone; a spatial expression of the colleges’ ambition to promote interdisciplinary expertise between study zones with physical and visual links.The storey decks are open towards a central core, where a broad main staircase winds its way upwards to the roof terrace. The main staircase is the heart of college educational and social life; the primary connection up an down, but also a place to stay, watch and be seen. Three ‘mega columns’ form the primary load bearing system, supplemented by a number of smaller columns positioned according to structural requirement, not as part of a regular grid. As a result, each floor has few permanent elements and can be laid out and rearranged almost completely at will. The superstructure is supplemented by a series of newly developed ‘room furniture’, which accommodate the need for the flexible and temporary room arrangements and learning environments required by varying group sizes – from one on one to an entire cohort.The rotated decks are mirrored in the facades. Due to their rotation, the decks create openings double- and triple high while drawing lines on the façade. As a rule, the glass is smooth with the deck fronts, but on each floor, one façade is withdrawn to create an outdoor space. These outdoor spaces are connected from ground to roof. In front of the glass facades, a series of coloured semi-transparent glass louvers can open or close to protect from the sun, while adding dashes of colour to the indoor environment.Area
12,000 m2

Budget
27 mio. Euro

Completed
2007

3XN Team
Kim Herforth Nielsen, Michael Kruse, Tommy Bruun, Per Damgaard-Sørensen, Trine Berthold, Kristjan Eggertsson, Jørgen Søndermark, Rikke Zachariasen, Pia Hallstrup, Maj Quist, Rasmus Kruse, Lars Ketil Carlsen, Anders Barslund Christensen, Morten Mygind, Nicolaj Borgwardt Schmidt, Trine Dalgaard, Britt Hansen, Ritha Jørgensen, Flemming Vind Christiansen, Holger Mouritzen, Klaus Mikkelsen, Robin Vind Christiansen, Klaus Petersen, Allan Brinch, Mogens Jepsen, Jens Martin Højrup, Palle Holsting

Engineer
Søren Jensen A/S

Education Advisor
Helle Mathiasen, Cand. pæd., Ph.d.

Photo
Adam Mørk