The picturesque landscape of the Faroe Islands has just received a new architectural addition in the shape of the Glasir Tórshavn College by Copenhagen based international architecture firm BIG. The building is designed to combine context and strong, sculptural, modern design.
The new structure is essentially a complex of different functions, comprising within a single, coherent design the Faroe Islands Gymnasium, Tórshavn Technical College and the Business College of Faroe Islands – effectively becoming home for a over 1,750 students, teachers and staff. Sitting on the edges of the island's capital of Tórshavn, the Glasir (as it's more informally, locally known) balances an urban scale with a certain lightness of touch, and views of the sea and greenery beyond the city, which connect it to its context.
The scheme sits next to the capital of Tórshavn, the sea and the island's green nature.
Since the scheme mixes many different uses, functionality and a clever internal arrangement were key to the design. BIG opted for a structure that is ‘organised like a vortex', explain the architects, with five levels planned around a central courtyard. There's ‘one [level] for each of the three institutions, one for food and faculty, and one for physical exercise and gatherings', the team adds. The circular void at the heart of the building is a stepped, architectural landscape that mirrors the natural one outside, and allows space for meeting, relaxing and socialising for students and staff.
Connections to the outdoors were equally important for the team, so the external materials chosen – glass and aluminium – were picked for their lightness and transparency, allowing for the views and setting to take centre stage. All areas of the building open up to the surroundings, with the top levels, in particular, cantilevering out towards the mountainous scenery. Adding to this balance is the complex's rooftop, which is planted with grass that will grow to eventually ‘allow the education center to disappear into the Faroese landscape'.
‘Inspired by the dramatic Faroese topography, Glasir is designed like a landscape for learning: the central space of the school is conceived as a topographical interpretation of the natural landscape — a continuous terraced terrain with steps and staircases that connect across several levels and merge the multistory building into a single entity', says BIG founder and creative director Bjarke Ingels.
The project combines the Faroe Islands Gymnasium, Tórshavn Technical College and the Business College of Faroe Islands.
The circular courtyard becomes a place for meeting and socialising.
The large scale education facility will be home to some 1,750 students, teachers and staff.
The interior material selection is simple, featuring mostly stone, cast concrete and wood.
Glass and aluminium on the exterior help the building remain discreet and blend with the landscape.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the BIG website
-
Stephen Prina borrows from pop, classical and modern music: now MoMA pays tribute to his performance work‘Stephen Prina: A Lick and a Promise’ recalls the artist, musician, and composer’s performances, and is presented throughout MoMA. Prina tells us more
-
Boffi | DePadova: the evolution of an Italian design superpowerFrom 1930s cabinet-maker to contemporary design force for every room of the home – how the Boffi | DePadova group came to stand for timeless Italian living, and a look at its current collections
-
Norman Foster and nine other architects design birdhouses for charity – you can bid‘Architects for the Birds’ is spearheaded by Norman Foster and the Tessa Jowell Foundation to raise funds to improve treatment for brain cancer. Ten architect-designed birdhouses will go up for auction
-
This tiny church in Denmark is a fresh take on sacred spaceTiny Church Tolvkanten by Julius Nielsen and Dinesen unifies tradition with modernity in its raw and simple design, demonstrating how the church can remain relevant today
-
‘Stone, timber, silence, wind’: welcome to SMK Thy, the National Gallery of Denmark expansionA new branch of SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark, opens in a tiny hamlet in the northern part of Jutland; welcome to architecture studio Reiulf Ramstad's masterful redesign of a neglected complex of agricultural buildings into a world-class – and beautifully local – art hub
-
Discover Bjarke Ingels, a modern starchitect of 'pragmatic utopian architecture'Discover the work of Bjarke Ingels, a modern-day icon and 'the embodiment of the second generation of global starchitects' – this is our ultimate guide to his work
-
Milan Design Week: ‘A Beat of Water’ highlights the power of the precious natural resource‘A Beat of Water’ by BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group and Roca zooms in on water and its power – from natural element to valuable resource, touching on sustainability and consumption
-
What is hedonistic sustainability? BIG's take on fun-injected sustainable architecture arrives in New YorkA new project in New York proves that the 'seemingly contradictory' ideas of sustainable development and the pursuit of pleasure can, and indeed should, co-exist
-
Step inside Rains’ headquarters, a streamlined hub for Danish creativityDanish lifestyle brand Rains’ new HQ is a vast brutalist construction with a clear-cut approach
-
This restored Danish country home is a celebration of woodworking – and you can book a stayDinesen Country Home has been restored to celebrate its dominant material - timber - and the craft of woodworking; now, you can stay there too
-
Greenland through the eyes of Arctic architects Biosis: 'a breathtaking and challenging environment'Danish architecture studio Biosis has long worked in Greenland, challenged by its extreme climate and attracted by its Arctic land, people and opportunity; here, founders Morten Vedelsbøl and Mikkel Thams Olsen discuss their experience in the northern territory
