According to preliminary estimates, the population of the Danish capital by 2025 will increase by 100 thousand people, but the city is already thinking about where these people will live and work. As part of the future development, the port area of Norhoun will be transformed into a modern residential and business district. One of the oldest and largest Scandinavian architecture firms, C. F. Møller Architects, designed the 1,200-student international school for the refurbished neighborhood, which will be the largest in Copenhagen. About 280 people will get jobs in the new educational institution.
A modern school should actively interact with the outside world, be as open as possible, the architects are sure. Therefore, along the facade overlooking the water, they planned a comfortable walking area, and at the opposite, city facade, they organized a small park with sports grounds.
The school building itself, with a total area of 25,000 m2, consists of a fairly massive two-storey base and four towers. The first accommodates all public spaces: the lobby, library, dining room, sports halls and a hall for performances, concerts and other events. Access here will be open to everyone, even during non-working hours for the school itself. So the educational institution will be able to serve as the community center of the adjacent area.
But the terrace located on the roof of the "base", connected by a special ramp to the park, is intended only for schoolchildren, as well as the 5-7-storey towers occupied by classrooms. Each of them will receive an individual layout, optimized for the age of the students and the features of the program.
But the most curious detail of the project is the building's facades, covered with 12,000 solar panels, each with an individual angle of inclination, so that the entire surface will shine mysteriously like "rain" on a Christmas tree. The total area of the panels is slightly more than 6,000 m2, and the capacity is about 200 MWh per year, so that even in not too sunny Copenhagen, they are able to provide up to half of all the electricity needed by the school (which is equal to the electricity consumption in 70 single-family houses), and will also serve an excellent practical guide for physics lessons.
The school is scheduled to open in January 2017.