Competition win to design new school and cultural centre in Oslo

Together with PIR2, we have won a competition to design a new school and cultural centre for the Bærum municipality, creating a bold new landmark building on the site of Oslo’s decommissioned airport, for an emerging neighbourhood in Fornebu. The competition attracted 29 prequalification submissions from interdisciplinary teams, and the winning team’s proposal was selected from a five-strong shortlist that included Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and NORD Architects.

The Tårnkvartalet proposal will co-locate a secondary school for over 900 students with wider community amenities including a cultural centre, black box theatre, sports centre, library, health clinic, and skate park, alongside workshops and cafés, in a 16,000m2 civic hub.

`The proposal will be the heart of the area’s wider masterplan, which has been under development for over two decades, since the airport was decommissioned,  and has a population set to grow to 25,000.

The building, which is to be composed largely from re-used materials and sustainably sourced timber, can be reconfigured over time to reflect the community as it grows and evolves. Designed to meet Norway’s FutureBuilt criteria, the scheme aims to set new environmental standards in school design.