Historic airport in Norway is transformed into a school  – As a result of a competition to revitalize Oslo’s historical, decommissioned airport, the Bærum municipality will be getting a new school and cultural center.

Architects from two firms, Haptic and PIR2 won a competition to design a new school and cultural centre on the site of Oslo’s former airport. The plan involves co-locating a secondary school for over 900-students with cultural community amenities for the Fornebu district, reinventing the role of the school, to create a more socially, environmentally and financially sustainable civic core for the emerging neighbourhood.

Fornebu itself, which is set to grow to a population of 25,000, is built around the re-use of many of the remaining 1940s hangars from the large aviation site, Norway’s first airport, before it was decommissioned. In keeping with this, Tårnkvartalet’s ground level, for all public-facing amenities, will be constructed from recycled brick, while the upper levels will consist of a series of stepped light CLT framed structures, made from sustainably sourced timber. Finally, glazed façades will create an open and transparent, world-class learning environment.

The winning design aligns with the goals to act sustainably and respect the aviation heritage of the site as Norway’s first airport. Thereby, the team plans to revamp the 1940s hangars into workshop stations, artist studios and TV production facilities. Additional spaces will embrace an amphitheater, park, and green space.  

The design team leaned into Norway’s established environmental standards by meeting the outlined FutureBuilt criteria for school design. As a result, construction materials will include recycled brick and sustainably-sourced wood in an interconnected design that creates classrooms and teaching areas which directly engage with the outdoor landscape.

Click here for further details [InHabitat]

Image credit: Haptic Architects