03 Mar 2022 / The school and employees

Design School Kolding re-loved

The winner of the architectural competition will re-enchant Design School Kolding with reuse of worn-out building materials
By Marianne Baggesen Hilger

- Are students allowed access to the discarded materials that are not to going to be used in the transformation of the Design School's buildings?

The question is asked by Morten Bandsholm, the student representative and one of the panel of judges, immediately after the winner of Design School Kolding's architectural competition has been announced.

- You could design something out of the discarded building materials, he adds, and demonstratively waves a product he has created from the remnants of a water-damaged floor at the school.

The episode shows that the climate agenda – side by side with the workshops – is deeply rooted in Design School Kolding, and this has been one of the decisive criteria why CUBO Architects has been declared the winner of Design School Kolding's architectural competition.

Materials must be screened
In their proposal, CUBO Architects recommends that existing materials be screened for possible reuse for other functions in the building, e.g., the school's southern window façade, which is used as transparent interior walls with sound-proofing properties. Nothing useable should be discarded, it should be re-enchanted, that is the fundamental concept of CUBO's winning proposal. This is exactly what Design School Kolding's panel of judges acknowledges with the words:

- CUBO sees sustainability in an inextricable context with functionality and constructability. It is an imaginative proposal for integrated sustainability that is visualized in architecture, a straightforward approach that conveys the Design School's DNA.

Lene Tanggaard, Rector of Design School Kolding, who sits on the panel of judges, adds:

– The transformation of Design School Kolding must be sustainable on several levels. We want to minimize the impact on the climate, and we dream of creating the best possible framework for social sustainability. The Design School wants to be a place where people thrive, a transformed, flexible building that is inviting to the outside world and at the same time creates the very best conditions for creative expression. CUBO Architects has managed to solve that ambition with their winning proposal.

Incidentally, the winning proposal is a confirmation of recent research that points to the fact that preserving older buildings is the most climate-friendly approach as well as using the original materials from the construction of the building.

The workshops in context
The workshops are the heart and soul of the design school. Currently, the 16 specialist workshops are spread across four floors, and when launching the competition, the school expressed a desire for the workshops to be more visible and also create a greater cohesion in order to give students the opportunity to work across disciplines. CUBO Architects has solved this challenge with "a simple and consistent approach by introducing two new staircases, which strengthens the vertical connection in the building and at the same time establishes a better organization, where study places and workshops are located in logical proximity and with excellent usable qualities", as the panel of judges writes in its justification.

The transformation will be financed with funds totalling DKK 37.5 million from the A.P. Moller Support Foundation the Louis-Hansen Foundation and the Augustinus Foundation. When adding Design School Kolding's own funds, a total of DKK 51.5 million has been raised for the renovation, which is scheduled to start at the end of 2022 and last for one year.

Besides the winner, CUBO Architects, a total of five design studios were shortlisted for the architectural competition, i.e., ADEPT, CEBRA, Mikkelsen Architects and Rørbæk & Møller Architects. Tegnestuen Mejeriet is the consulting engineer.

The panel of judges consists of:
Lene Tanggaard, Rector; Lone Dalsgaard André, Prorector; Helle Graabæk, Teaching Associate Professor and work environment manager; Morten Bandsholm, Chairman, DSR; Morten Albæk, President, Board of Directors, Design School Kolding; Karsten Uno, Board Member, Design School Kolding; Ulla Lunn, architect, the A.P. Moller Support Foundation; Christine Wiberg-Lyng, Director, the Louis-Hansen Foundation; Michael Pagaard Madsen, City Architect, Kolding Municipality. 

Torben Nielsen, Rector, Architect, Aarhus School of Architecture is the Professional Judge.  Tegnestuen Mejeriet a/s is the consulting engineer.