Prins Henriks Skole
Description
A schoolyard for children and young adults alike
Prince Henrik’s School is an international French school with 900 pupils enrolled in preschool and all the way up to upper secondary school. The challenge for the schoolyard was to come up with a design that would make it a place that all pupils could spend time in, from kindergarteners to young adults on the cusp of moving away from home. At the same time, the schoolyard needed to be flood-proofed as part of the Municipality of Frederiksberg’s flood management plan.
An undulating and playful landscape
The schoolyard was designed on the basis of two core elements: The Floor and the Edge. The Floor is a single surface that moves through the schoolyard in the form of an undulating, playful landscape. Two playing fields fill the large spaces; a quadratic basketball court and an oval fenced-in football field with artificial grass. Elsewhere, the wavy floor turns into rubber surfaces in varying shades of blue that light up the space and provide safe footing for playground equipment and the like. The floor is perfectly suited for football, basketball, running and playing in general.
Take a break
The entrance towards Frederiksberg Allé stands out from the rest of the schoolyard. The idea was to create a calm waiting and entrance area with a classic enclosed gravel surface. A large round bench surrounded by flowering trees makes for an enticing spot to take a break.
Multifunctional edge fences in the schoolyard
Along the perimeter of the schoolyard, the fence was converted to a multifunctional edge that frames the schoolyard. The edge varies from being a green element, a wooden wall with fragrant creepers to an active wooden fence in a range of different shapes. At the Edge, pupils can enjoy a quiet moment under newly planted trees, climb and crawl, perform or whatever else they can think of. The materials and geometry of the Edge take a contrasting appearance to the undulating asphalt surface of the Floor and can be replaced according to the pupils’ needs.
