Taarbæk School

Designing the walls to reflect the school's history and identity

Client: Taarbæk School
Our role: Facilitating workshops, Design
Location: Taarbæk, Denmark
Year: Jan - May 2019
Status: Completed

In the spring of 2019, arki_lab facilitated a series of workshops with the students and teachers at Taarbæk School, which led to the interior design of the staircase walls. The project aimed to reflect the school identity, values and learning objectives on the walls, to be visible and recognizable by students, teachers and visitors.

The workshops helped us get a comprehensive understanding of the school's environment, context, values and curriculum, amongst other fundamental cornerstones. We conducted the engagement not just with teachers and administrators, but also with 4th, 5th and 6th graders, who provided a different insight and perspective into how they use and approach the school. The teachers and students inputs aligned greatly, pointing out overarching themes that were fundamental to the school's identity: the sea, the forest and the close-knit community within the school. The phrase "everyone knows everyone" was uttered not just by the teachers and administration but also by the students.

Following the engagement phase we treated and analyzed the collected knowledge and data to develop a concept design for the staircase interior walls. The goal was to reflect the concepts and values, gathered from the workshops, in a playful and fun manner. Therefore the final design on the walls demonstrate the events, activities, values and learning objectives through a whimsical and fun display of images and text. Now, when walking up and down the stairs, the students can clearly recognize the important events, learning objectives and even some historical stories and myths about the school.



  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
    We strive to use the Sustainable Development Goals as a structuring framework for our projects. This is how this project contributes to a more sustainable future

  • 4 QUALITY EDUCATION
    Involving young people in designing the spaces they inhabit strengthens the educational system as one that promotes an active and engaging attitude towards the surrounding society

  • 12 RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION
    The walls embody the Sustainable Development Goals through recommendations and suggestions on how to consume and use one's resources more consciously.

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