Title: Sandbox School of Amager Commons
Location of Proejct: Copenhagen, Denmark
Project Completion Date: 05/20/2021
Firm Name:

Short Description: Do you remember playing in a sandbox as a child? Sandboxes are playgrounds where children can run, play, and fall without getting hurt, where a child can stand back up, dust off, and run again. The world’s education system is facing a learning crisis. While education systems remain stagnant and rigid in their curriculums, the Sandbox School sets an example of a perpetual education system that ought to inspire creativity and innovation which affects students’ intellectual performance. It is designed to motivate achievement by creating a safe place to learn from failures and building a sense of community and belonging.

Architect's Statement: The school is a living building synthesizer that educates the students and the community users to appreciate what nature gives us and not take it for granted. One of the major curricula of the school is allowing students to grow a poplar seedling upon admission. The tree dedicated to each student will be taken care individually throughout the entire program until graduation. As the trees grow, the students of the Amager Commons grow together. This engages students to not only learn about the beauty of nature but also learn to cherish life. Prior to graduation, the student has the option to take the poplar tree to use as a resource for their capstone project to kick start his/her new journey as a young problem-solving entrepreneur with the mindset of systems thinking and sustainability.

The Sandbox School coins David Thornburg’s theory of innovative learning environments “Primordial Metaphors for Learning in the 21st century” which is five metaphors of spatial experiences that encourage students to learn at equal status and access ubiquitous information through experts, peers, and the student themselves by learning, experimenting and making mistakes. The architectural program of the school is designed to catalyze these learning qualities through spatial organization and interaction: Mountain top, Campfire, Cave, Sandbox, and Watering hole.

The facade of the school is responsive to nature. Wind energy is produced from the vertical shading device. This facade system allows positively charged particles to move in an electric field. Potential energy is generated when positively charged water droplets are pushed by the wind.

The site is located at the Amager Common, a suburban district adjacent to the city center of Copenhagen, Denmark. Amager Common is a 223 hectare nature reserve containing meadows, lakes, forests and a range of wildlife such as cattles. Citizens of Copenhagen utilizes this natural reserve for recreation and escape from the city environment. Amager Common is also proposed to be the next Timber Village. Addressing the growing population and the needs of the area, the Sandbox School is a direct response to protect the nature reserve by serving the community as a beacon to help actualization of sustainable awareness.

The school is divided into three sections: the academic wing, technology wing and the community wing. The academic wing is condensed to respect the longitudinal site boundaries along the street. The technology wing is at the center between the academic and community wing acting as the main entrance for the school to bridge the gap to serve not only for the students but also the public. The community wing is programmed with a gym, cafeteria and urban farming tower which can be used by the public after school hours. Students learn ethos by sharing their space with the community. The gym walls are operable as doors designed to maximize flexibility that can be utilized for weekend markets, wedding venues, or response to crisis providing refuge during natural disasters and pandemic.