Construction has begun on Henning Larsen's new school in Sundby on Lolland-Falster, Denmark, which was designed together with SKALA Architects, ETN Architects, MOE, and Autens led by BO-HUS as a result of a competition in September 2020. 

Named Nordic Swan Ecolabel Primary School, the ground-breaking ceremony for the New School in Sundby took place for the launch of a historic project for Danish sustainable school construction. 

At the ceremony, the chairman of the Children, Family, and Education Committee of Guldborgsund Municipality, Simon Hansen, was joined by two students from Sundskolen to take the project’s first shovel to the ground.

The New School in Sundby, described as "the largest construction project in Guldborgsund Municipality’s history", will be a milestone achievement for both sustainability and educational ambition in Denmark.

The school's rounded form is blended with landscape and creates a large roof terrace overlooking mesmerizing views around it.

"We are making history within Danish school construction. We have made a conscious, political choice to invest in sustainable construction, and our new school gets one of the finest quality stamps with the Nordic Ecolabel," said Hansen at the ceremony.

The project is designed with ambitious goals for not only sustainability parameters, but its potential for local learning and community engagement. 

The design of the project also meets the UN World Language School requirements for teaching facilities that support the UN Sustainable Development goals through both physical design and teaching curriculum, as the team explains. 

In the project, Henning Larsen creates robust classroom spaces, with a particular attention to spaces outside the traditional learning environment. 

Located on the edge of the city, the design takes advantage of the school's proximity to nature and aims to bring the outdoors - and an active, outdoor attitude, in. The school itself blends with the land, it's sloped roof touching down to the ground level facilitate public access at all hours. 

"We have designed a school that works in a field between learning and landscape, and where it is not just about the learning that takes place in the building, but the whole route to and from the school and the way the school will connect to the local community," explained Eva Ravnborg, Partner at Henning Larsen.

The school is planned to open at the end of summer 2022 and it will accommodate approximately 580 students up to grade 9 and is eagerly anticipated in the Sundby community.

"It will in every way be a completely unique school and a common house in the local area for the benefit of all citizens in the local community," said Morten Janik, chairman of the school board. 

Ground breaking ceremony. Image © Henning Larsen, Lars Engelgaar

With construction now underway, the school will soon be available as an anchor point for the local community and a global example for progressive learning environments.

The primary school will be the first in Denmark to be awarded the Nordic Ecolabel, the region’s official sustainability certification based on a range of parameters for energy consumption, indoor climate, chemical exposure, and sustainable material use.

All images courtesy of Henning Larsen Architects

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