The school

The 1,100 m² multi-purpose hall and the latest two-level addi­tion to Gammel Hellerup High School just north of Copen­hagen, provides exis­ting students with gene­rous spaces for social and crea­tive unfol­ding, while incre­asing the capa­city of the school in response to its growing popu­la­rity.

Gammel Hellerup Gymna­sium is a high school situated in Hellerup, north of Copen­hagen. It was founded in 1894 and was origi­nally a boys’ school. Today it is a mixed school and offers a variety of specia­lized study programmes within the fields of social science, the huma­ni­ties and natural science to more than 900 students. The school contains a range of class­rooms, labo­ra­to­ries and computer rooms to meet all the students’ needs. Gammel Hellerup Gymna­sium has a repu­ta­tion of high academic stan­dards and outstan­ding exami­na­tion results, engen­de­ring mature and inde­pen­dent students ready for the chal­lenges of higher educa­tion at univer­si­ties in Denmark and abroad.

The sports hall

Origi­nally a buil­ding adja­cent to the campus, the gymna­sium faci­li­ties became insuf­fi­cient; Gammel Hellerup High School lacked a large multi-func­tional space for physical acti­vi­ties, gradua­tion cere­mo­nies and social gathe­rings. In response, BIG desi­gned a multi-purpose hall for the physical educa­tion and social deve­lo­p­ment of the students, drawing its signa­ture curve from the physics of a hand­ball being thrown. Placed 16.5 feet below ground in the school’s cour­tyard, the hall is passi­vely tempe­ra­ture controlled and does not impose on its context. Above ground, the hall’s softly curved roof is an informal meeting place. The edge of the roof is desi­gned as a long social bench, perfo­rated with small windows to provide natural daylighting below. The shape of the roof is based on the formula for a balli­stic arc. Form follows formula!

Another new building

During the cons­truc­tion of the hall, the school planned a new buil­ding, located between the school’s multi-purpose hall and adja­cent foot­ball fields. This new arts buil­ding seeks to connect the sports areas with the gymnasium’s exis­ting educa­tional faci­li­ties in one conti­nuous flow. By placing parts of the new buil­ding beneath the foot­ball fields, the students are able to walk through the sunken sports hall at the center of the school´s cour­tyard, to the class­rooms, cafe­teria, and out to the main entrance at street level. Addi­tio­nally, the new faci­li­ties situated under­ground form the roof of the new arts buil­ding, exten­ding the foot­ball fields into a green carpet for informal acti­vity and to serve as informal seating over­loo­king future sporting events.

AWARDS

• 2014 Fast Company Inno­va­tion By Design Awards Fina­list
• 2014 Center For Active Design Excel­lence Awards Hono­rable Mention
• 2014 Archi­tizer A+ Awards Jury Winner
• 2014 Al Archi­tec­ture & Light Design Awards
• 2014 Den Nordiske Lyspris (nordic Lighting Award)
• 2013 Archi­tect Magazine’s Annual Design Review Grow Cate­gory
• 2013 Den Danske Lyspris
• 2013 In Situ Prisen (danske Beton) Honor