Naasut daycare centre is located directly adjacent to Nuuk's new school Inussuk. Here there is room for play and learning, inclusion and diversity. Naasut means flower in Greenlandic, referring to the delicate floral motifs on the customised facade.
Nuuk
Greenland
Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq
2023
1300 ㎡
Ístak general contractor, Verkis Engineers, Vega landscape
Enriching facade
The facades of both the school and daycare centre are decorated with local fauna and flora - the flowers characterise the building for young children and have also given Naasut its name.
The use of colours is part of the Greenlandic building tradition. At the same time, colours and shapes give identity to the different sections of the school, contribute to wayfinding and provide input for learning.
Architecture and furnishings in interaction
Built-in furniture is designed to interact with and extend the architecture of the building to maximise the use of space and square metres. In collaboration with skilled manufacturers of customised furniture, a functional, robust and aesthetically pleasing set of fixed furniture has been created, which in this daycare centre is supplemented with loose furniture from Lekolar.
The red linoleum floor is a unifying element used in common areas in both Naasut daycare centre and Nuuk school. The colour adds warmth and energy to the high spaces that are otherwise dominated by the light concrete walls and acoustic ceilings.
It took some time to convince the client of the red colour, but everyone is thrilled with the result.
"We've received high praise from the head of the institution, who is very enthusiastic about Naasut's physical environment. Our goal is to create architecture that makes a real difference to the users, so this kind of praise is the ultimate pat on the back.
Morten Nøhr Frandsen, Project Manager at Nuuk school and associate partner
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Insitu concrete - a sustainable choice
Concrete is both structurally and aesthetically an essential element of school and kindergarten architecture.
Insitu concrete is a relatively sustainable material choice in the Greenlandic context because it can be adapted to local climate conditions and built directly on site. By utilising local resources such as sand and gravel, both costs and environmental impact can be reduced. The robustness and longevity of concrete makes it ideal for Greenland's harsh weather, extending the lifespan and reducing the need for repairs. Concrete is integrated with insulation materials to keep energy consumption for heating low.
Skylights adapted to arctic climate
