Levanger ungdomsskole

commission: 1. prize project architectural competition
project: secondary school (540 pupils)
client: Levanger council
grossarea: 6.450m2
completion: August 2015
project team: C.Adams, B.Dyvik, O.H.Hiorth, H. Salvesen
landscaping: Bjørbekk & Lindheim AS

The site is part of the Røstad area north of Levanger. The Nord-Trøndelag University College (HINT) occupies the larger part of the campus, with the main building as the most important element. HINTs buildings, Trønderhallen sports hall and the oval gymnastics building represent the current “Campus Røstad”. By placing the school building on the northern part of the plot, we save the areas in the south to make a continuous activity surface together with the public activity area that is currently being planned to the east of the site. The northern part is also the highest point with the best view to the fjord.

The municipality wanted a compact and space efficient school with a large, central assembly hall with a stage. In addition, they wanted the school to be combined with a new cultural hall for the entire municipality. To respond to these conditions, we have chosen a compact single volume on 2 levels based on a rational structure that has a simple and refined, architectural expression in an area with great architectural variety in terms of form, expression and use of materials. Across the building is an axis with the main entrance at one end and a dining room/café, overlooking the bay, on the other. This axis also crosses through the “heart” of the school, a central double height room with galleries and libraries on one side and the stage on the other. In the heart, which can provide seating for the entire school’s 540 pupils, one has a beautiful view to the fjord to the north and the fields and the town to the south. The “heart gets additional daylight from skylights in the roof. The heart meets the demands of a new cultural hall.