Erlev School

A new school with a forward-thinking perspective

Haderslev Municipality has a strong ambition to build a new school with a forward-thinking perspective. A school that believes in activity-based learning and in optimising learning through playing and that distributes the 500 pupils in kindergarten to sixth grade in year-based departments with a permanent team of teachers and social educators.
  • Haderslev Kommune
    Client
  • Sloth Møller
    Engineer
  • Location
    Gl. Herregårdsvej, Haderslev
  • Year
    2017 - 2021
  • Size
    5.800 m²
  • Awards
    Danish School Building of the Year 2021 | Finalist, World Architecture Festival 2022 | Honorable Mention (2nd place), The PLAN Awards 2023 | Citation Award at Wood Design & Building Awards 2021
  • Architect
    Arkitema
  • Landscape
    Arkitema
Arkitema Erlev Skole Photo Niels Nygaard 14 web

To support this didactic mindset and perspectives on learning, the architecture was designed as a series of simple and open geometries – a stringent grid of columns, where each part is designed to have different elements together with users in a co-creation process.

Arkitema Erlev Skole Photo Niels Nygaard 03 web

The school is characterised by a range of room types, which support activity-based education. Large common rooms, traditional classrooms, smaller educational rooms and small niches. Rooms where the teacher acts as a coach that kicks off and inspires, rather than as a lecturer. The school consists of small universes with year clusters, each one characterised by age-appropriate layout and visual appearance.

The landscape around the school serves as a large, unbroken, supporting learning landscape. All around the school, covered areas provide shelter for outdoor stays and can be used for teaching outside.

Arkitema Erlev Skole Photo Niels Nygaard 20 web
Arkitema Erlev Skole Photo Niels Nygaard 04 web

The school also opens towards the local community and constitutes an attraction or destination on a planned recreational route through Haderslev. Boasting path systems and playground equipment, the outdoor areas can also be used in leisure hours, and the large hall will also be used in the evening.

Arkitema Erlev Skole Photo Niels Nygaard 10 web
Arkitema Erlev Skole Photo Niels Nygaard 09 web

The project ranks high in terms of social, economic and environmental sustainability. Erlev School is a timber structure and will be one of the first ‘new-generation’ timber schools in Denmark.

Below you'll find a movie made about Erlev School:

Arkitema Erlev Skole Photo Niels Nygaard 19 web