Sommerbæk Daycare Centre and School

The new school and daycare centre in Hørning is a lively community that seamlessly integrates the school, daycare centre, and after-school activities with the surrounding nature. This creates a vibrant and cohesive environment for children, young people, and adults, with activities and event from early morning until late evening.

The design is inspired by the natural habitat of the surroundings and the goal has been to create a place that enhances the energy of the area, bringing the surrounding natural areas to life through pathways and opportunities for activities, and incorporating the open countryside into the design of the building.

Thus, the project is a unique example of how architecture, education, community, and nature can merge into a cohesive building and landscape. It is more than just a school, daycare, and recreational center. It will become a new hub for the local community and for Hørning.

The collective building, covering an area of around 7200 m², accommodates a new school for students from 0th to 3rd grade, with four cohorts per grade level, and a daycare centre with four kindergarten groups and three nursery groups.

Like a three-leaf-clover, the building is divided into three primary sections, which house the daycare centre, sports facilities, and primary education. These sections are interconnected by a shared central space - ‘Torvet’ - which constitutes the heart of the building. In the center of ‘Torvet’, there is a lowered recreational space - 'Lysningen’ - which encourages social interaction and functions as an informal learning platform.

Designed as smaller “buildings within the building”, the project strives to meet the children at their own level by creating a sense of community and belonging for each child. This approach allows children to ‘grow with the building’, from their early years to their adolescence, feeling secure and confident within their environment.

‘The Inside-Out School’ is a central theme in the design of the school. The concept emphasizes and provides the framework for a higher level of outdoor education. From the indoor facilities, students can easily move to the adjacent outdoor areas, where canopies and outdoor workshops provide excellent and inspiring conditions for outdoor education. The outdoor facilities mirror the indoor facilities, to ensure that the quality of the education remains the same.

The transition between the town of Hørning and the open countryside is reflected in the architecture, inspired by the rhythmic character of the town and the more natural elements of the landscape.

The architectural expression is distinctive yet timeless with a contemporary form language. The façade features recesses and protrusions that provide an inviting and diverse appearance. This design results in numerous well-designed courtyards and interstitial spaces, where the outdoor areas and canopies contribute to the overall expression of the façade, further emphasizing the concept of ‘The Inside-Out School’.

The new building is designed to support a sustainable development and inspire environmentally conscious thinking. It provides children with the opportunity to learn and live based on a sustainable, holistic approach to the relationship between people, the environment, and nature, both in the present and in their future lives.

The building will be DGNB-certified for gold.

Photographer: Martin Schubert