location
Sipoo, Finland
client
The City of Sipoo and Keuda
Status
completed in 2007
Award
First prize in the invitation-only architecture competition 2005
Building area
4,100m 2
photographs
Marko Huttunen
The Finnish school system is known to be one of the best in the world. The architecture of schools plays a significant role in their quality. Enter – one of the first synergy schools in FinIand – combines a high school and an IT college. The L-shaped structure of Enter emphasises transparency and social interaction as students and staff move through the central space in between classes. The L-shape creates a division in the outer landscape, both in terms of functions and geography. The two wings of the building embrace the inner courtyard and garden areas, which together form a unified area.po
A cast on site concrete stair forms the center of action in the building. It is topped by a large conical top light.
The warm tone of the wooden surfaces is reminiscent of early 20th century school buildings.
The urban setting is dominated by two curved yards: a larger one towards the campus garden and a smaller court yard connected to the main road.
The street side façade is broken up in smaller volumes to relate to the scale of the surrounding villas.
The two curved glass façades open up the school towards the community. The students and teachers see the community and are seen.
