Thor Heyerdal Upper Secondary School
Location: Larvik, Norway
Client: County of Vestfold
Team: Stig L. Andersson, Malin Blomqvist, Malene Krüger, Friedemann Rüter, Annelie Håkansson, Lone Nielsen, Thomas Kock, Jonas Sangberg, Martin Søberg, Frauke Materlik, Karen Margrethe Krogh
Collaborators: SHL
Design phase: 2006-
Construction: 2006-
Area: 6 ha.
The masterplan for Thor Heyerdahl college unites the residents’ wishes for both a lively educational environment and an area with active sports. The project is spatially organised in such a way that the college, the new arena and the new outdoor facilities interact with the existing and proposed developments. This meeting between new and old will have a synergy effect: an area buzzing with life will be created.
The different functions of the new urban area will attract many people. Some come during the day to go to college, others in the afternoon to play football, while a completely different group come by in the evening to use the sports and cultural facilities.
Active outdoor spaces at Trekroner School
The striped floor consists of asphalt, concrete and varying types of natural stone. These are all types of material that change character according to the weather. On sunny days the floor appears in different shades, while on rainy days it pulls the sky down to the earth and reflects the surroundings and their many colours. On the floor you also find seating furniture of concrete and rubber. In other places tall trees are planted or the floor surface is painted to indicate activity and gathering points.
The building plan provides order and structure while the life in the outdoor spaces, whether between the buildings or out in the open sports areas, represents the living, unorganised and surprising. Only by creating this contrast between the built and the unfolding life do you achieve an area that appeals to many people. And thereby a diverse urban area where the overarching theme is learning and sport, organised as well as self-organised.
The diagram shows the restructuring and adding of new functions, which the plan suggests.
