We are proud to be among the 66 architectural firms selected to exhibit in the Danish Pavilion in Venice. Under the title "Art of Many - The Right to Space", the exhibition will show the broad commitment and humanism that is special to Danish architecture. Our two projects "Ørestad School" and "Oslo Square" have been chosen to be exhibited under the "Designing Life" agenda as they focus on rethinking and shaping human behaviour through high quality architecture. Ørestad School is a rethinking of primary school, with a spatial focus on experiences, play and curiosity. Humanism is expressed by viewing children as curious, free and investigative human beings. KHR Architects' ambition is to promote this by using the compact building body of the school to create a subtle spatial sequence that arouses interest and curiosity in the children. The progression from the street, up to the playgrounds and on to the classroom is created by many smaller manageable spaces.
The two projects
With a focus on children's understanding of space, the rooms are designed to be small enough for children to feel safe, yet large enough for curious eyes to peer around corners. Ørestad School is a school for children, an evolution of a classic welfare institution with a focus on the needs of the child - a humanistic school. Oslo Plads is a workplace that gives back to the city and creates connections between people - a humanistic workplace with daylight, views, connections and contact with the outside world. Oslo Plads is a central square in Copenhagen - a large transit zone surrounded by several cultural attractions. In the development of the project, we therefore focus on creating a workplace that gives something back to the city, by creating contact between the city and the workplace. The project includes a new layout of the classic open plan office in conjunction with an innovative façade solution.
The workplaces are pulled back from the facade, so that the community and internal communication come out into the facade and give life and dynamics to the surroundings. At the same time, the withdrawal of the workplace allows better contemplation for the employees and panoramic views of the horizon. This gives all employees a front row seat and creates a democratic workplace. The International Architecture Biennale officially opens on 28 May 2016 and can be seen until 27 November 2016. Read interviews with curators.