This sustainable floating education + innovation hub by BIG is an entire city in one building

The Bjarke Ingels Group or popularly known as BIG recently unveiled its plans for the Masterplan Esbjerg Strand – a campus environment and innovation hub that attempts to bring a new and fresh approach to education. This astounding structure will be surrounded by water and located in Jutland, Denmark. It will be nestled in the seaside town of Esbjerg, and is BIG’s attempt to recreate an entire city in one building! Are you as awestruck as we are?!

Designer: Bjarke Ingels Group

The geometrically intriguing structure will be elevated on a platform, seven meters above sea level, and can be accessed only via bridges. It will occupy 13,700 square meters and feature a roofscape that zig-zags around, as well as a central park. This impressive park will be protected from wind and noise. It will function as an oasis, creating an intriguing contrast between the peaceful campus, and the busy industrial harbor. The perimeter wall is quite a fascinating one, featuring angular white walls, that are accentuated with massive windows to provide stunning views of the park and the sea. The walls will artfully adjust around the irregular shape of the building, folding effortlessly around the central park, and then changing in height to form the roofscape.

You might find the shape, size, and layout of the structure quite irregular and eccentric. But BIG chose such a design to protect the building from the natural restraints on the site – such as extreme climatic conditions, turbulent waters, or even floods. In fact, the base of the structure has been raised by seven meters to provide protection against floods!

“The new masterplan is informed by present environmental parameters at the site: noise from the harbor, dominant westerly winds, high tides and storm surges, and sunlight,” the studio said.

Sustainability is also an important factor being incorporated into the construction of the campus. The entire site will be powered by renewable energy, and it will achieve 11 out of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. A beautiful green roof will also be added at the top of the building – which will feature a 1000-meter-long pathway.

“Education, development, and new communities will create the frame for a life, where the island with all its functions and possibilities works as a sustainable, human-made ecosystem in the middle of a city,” said the studio. “The vision for the project Masterplan Esbjerg Strand is to form the framework for a city and campus environment that will rethink the approach to education,” they also added.

The Masterplan Esbjerg Strand is truly a groundbreaking architectural proposal in these modern times. It perfectly encapsulates a site that not only paves the path for the progression of education and innovation – but manages to do so in a sustainable and eco-friendly environment.

The post This sustainable floating education + innovation hub by BIG is an entire city in one building first appeared on Yanko Design.

Sustainable design in architecture award-winning primary school will be Denmark’s first Ecolabel School this 2022!

Renowned architecture firm Henning Larsen has commenced construction on their landmark primary school project in Sundby, Copenhagen. Contributing to the country’s agenda for sustainable educational facility architecture, the New School in Sundby ensures high sustainability parameters as well as integration with the school’s surrounding, local community. Opening its doors to 580 new students by the end of summer 2022, the New School is nature-oriented and built to merge the classroom with the environment.

Henning Larsen is an architecture firm driven to create structures that double as agents for sustainable change, first looking at what their designs can do for people and local communities. Built with the same driving ambition, their New School in Sundby supports and achieves the UN’s Sustainable Development goals from the ground up through sustainable structural design and the promise to enact a curriculum that coincides with the UN’s environmental efforts. In order to incorporate nature into the school’s curriculum, architects envisioned the surrounding environment as alternative classrooms by literally merging the school with the ground below it.

Located miles away from the burgeoning city centers of Copenhagen, The New School nestles itself in the winding hills of Denmark’s countryside. The New School in Sundby features a living roof that slopes into the grassland below it, ascending into a semi-circle that positions itself just above the ground below. Geometric windows and modules give the New School a progressive whimsy that balances the practical and unadorned integration of the natural environment. Rewarding architectural strides in sustainability factors, like low-greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and waste, as well as health factors like ventilation, natural light, noise, and chemical exposure, the New School in Sundby will be Denmark’s first primary school to be awarded the Nordic Ecolabel.

Designer: Henning Larsen

The New School in Sundby follows a circular structure, forming a semi-circle upon completion.

Henning Larsen architecture firm has broken down on new sustainable primary school in Denmark.

Geometric windows and facades line the interior facade of the New School in Sundby.

Inside, natural wood and concrete finishes give rise to multiple levels.

Henning Larsen team.

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Could it be? Yes it could. Something’s coming. Something good. Yes, something big is happening in Denmark. This massive yellow LEGO brick was spotted by Mark John Stafford on a trailer bed hauled by a truck in Billund, Denmark. This gigantic piece is gonna really hurt some barefoot giant.

This huge brick is likely making its way to the new LEGO headquarters in Billund, which is still under construction. The new LEGO campus will feature 52,000 square-meters of LEGO brick-inspired offices and a public park. It’s going to be a LEGO lover’s dream come true. The plan for the office complex was first announced in 2016 and the ground was broken in February of 2017 so they are making progress.

The construction’s first phase will be ready for the first round of employees this year, and the overall project should be completed in 2021. I’m sure they will be hauling many more bricks to the new headquarters. I wonder how heavy this piece is. And will the employees be required to dress like minifigs? I hope so because that would be cool. Weird, but very cool.

It’s too bad they aren’t making the entire headquarters out of LEGO bricks because that would really show the world how awesome and durable these playthings are.

[via Zusammengebaut via Mike Shouts]

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