KHR Architecture has won an international architectural competition to build a school in the Lichtenberg district of Berlin.
KHR Architecture, together with its German partner Renner Architekten, has won an international architectural competition to build a school in the Lichtenberg district of Berlin. Creative Director of KHR Architecture, Mikkel Beedholm, says:
"We are very happy to have won the competition for the school Am Broad Lynx, which is a truly exciting project in a challenging location, where we have drawn on our extensive experience in developing modern school buildings and at the same time creating a neighbourhood lift.
The brief was to design an integrated school for 725 pupils using a compartment approach, creating small school units within the school, and to integrate two sports halls on a relatively small site, where there is heavy noise pollution from both a major road and a railway. In addition, a large water pipeline runs across the site, which has to be kept free from construction, which has really required a different way of organise construction on.
Our two sports halls are located above each other and raised to the first floor. They are oriented towards Falkenberger Chaussee, so the halls form a noise barrier from the surrounding road and railway. In this way, the sports halls create a landmark facing the city and become a natural entrance to one of the district's major parks and learning areas. This grip also creates a quieter rear area where the eight clusters of classrooms and subject rooms are located. On the ground floor, all multifunctional areas and the canteen are located together with rooms for music and art, as well as a library and an inclusion area, which can thus be used outside school hours by other pupils.
A total of 11 project proposals were judged, and according to the chairman of the judging committee, Stefan Benisch, it was precisely our surprising and functional organisation of the individual building units that was decisive for us winning."
Regula Lüscher, Building Director of the Berlin Senate and State Secretary for Urban Development in the Senate Administration for Urban Development and Housing, praises KHR for combining functionality with a distinctive design:
"The winning proposal does an excellent job of relating the various school functions to each other while developing its own character within the context of the building," she said in a press release. Jens Wadle, who is responsible for the procurement of school buildings at the municipal housing company HOWOGE, which launched the competition and will be responsible for the construction of the school, agrees:
"The plot is relatively small and heavily burdened by noise. Measured against these challenges, the submissions were characterised by a wide range of solutions and a lot of creativity. The winning design re-arranges the complex site into a cleverly conceived urban design configuration, adding real value to the limited outdoor and indoor school spaces." In addition to being one of Germany's largest social housing landlords, the HOWOGE will be responsible for a number of school construction and renovation projects in Berlin in the coming years.
The Am Breiten Luch school project is just the start of a German school adventure, if KHR CEO Lars Kragh has his way:
"Berlin has launched a so-called "school construction offensive" and has earmarked 5.5 billion euros for new school construction and renovation. Around 60,000 school places are to be created by 2026, and this opens up an interesting market for a company like ours, which has extensive experience in modern school construction.
KHR is recognised for creating school spaces that inspire children to play and learn. A good example is Ørestadens School, which has received international recognition because we have really managed to address children's needs and movement patterns.
We have recently added more German-speaking staff and found good partners in Germany. Just yesterday I was in Hamburg to sign the final cooperation agreement with Renner Architekten. We are now opening a project office in Berlin and have already been pre-qualified for several competitions in the school and healthcare sectors in Germany."
