Valen Norway

2003

This was a project for a small town on the west coast of Norway where I lived for a year, designed to animate the playground of my children’s school and developed with the wonderful headmaster of the school Steinar Haugan and a very supportive community. Steinar wanted a more imaginative play area at the entrance to the school and a scheme that would provide outdoor teaching spaces.

I took as my starting point the intimate interface of land and sea, a phenomenon that shapes much of Norway, and one in which Norwegian children are immersed through both their surroundings and their education. One day of each school week is spent having lessons outside in the surrounding environment, regardless of the weather.

Glacial boulders lapped by gentle fjord tides, wooden jetties, thick ropes and vertical mooring poles are the inspiration for this play and outdoor classroom area, now a popular feature of the school and a focal point for the community: the Norwegian National Day procession each May 17th now culminates at the revitalised playground.

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