Client projects: Strandskolan

Where location, nature and the learning environment come together

With a unique location on the shore of Lake Bottensjön in Karlsborg, the new Strandskolan has been designed to give students a learning environment that promotes both learning and wellbeing. Here, pedagogy, nature and carefully considered interior design come together in a school where every space has a clear purpose. The layout, furnishing and choice of materials are designed to create a safe, flexible and inspiring environment for pupils from preschool to Year 6. The school has capacity for 360 students and includes classrooms, a library, specialist classrooms and generous shared spaces for teaching, collaboration and community.

Lake Bottensjön shapes the school’s identity

From the moment you enter Strandskolan, you are met by a calm and welcoming atmosphere. Abundant daylight, high ceilings and open spaces create a sense of spaciousness, while carefully planned acoustics, harmonious colours and thoughtfully selected materials contribute to a pleasant, inviting place where students and staff can focus and thrive throughout the school day. Acoustics were a particularly important aspect of the project. Carpets, acoustic ceilings and wall-mounted sound absorbers work together to reduce disruptive noise and create a calm working environment.

The calm atmosphere is reinforced by the school’s location beside Lake Bottensjön, which inspired the design of the physical learning environment. Views of the water open up from several classrooms and shared spaces, creating a natural connection between indoors and outdoors. Nature is reflected in the colour palette, tactile materials such as wood and textiles, and illustrations of animals, birds and fish species found in the area. Playful fish motifs in the flooring spark curiosity and strengthen the school’s sense of place.

Together, the daylight, views and material choices create a harmonious learning environment in which nature becomes a natural part of pupils’ everyday lives. Dimmable, motion-controlled lighting complements the daylight while supporting energy-efficient use. The overall environment provides excellent conditions for concentration, restoration and learning throughout the school day.

Classrooms with ergonomics and a calm working environment in focus

Strandskolan’s learning environments are designed to give teachers and students opportunities for varied teaching and different ways of learning. A key starting point was to create flexible classrooms, with carefully considered core furnishing that provides structure and a calm working environment while also adapting to different activities and ways of working. This makes it possible to alternate between individual work, whole-class teaching and group work. The classrooms are complemented by group rooms, open collaborative areas and quiet places for restoration.

Great care has been devoted to ergonomics. All student chairs are adjustable and have upholstered seats, which reduce noise, provide good seating comfort throughout the school day and make it easy to adapt the workstation to each student. The chairs also have flex in the backrest, encouraging movement and counteracting static sitting. Together with the well-planned acoustic environment, this creates the best possible conditions for students to sustain their concentration throughout the school day.

Key players in the classrooms

The Xpect student chair is designed for an active school day. Flex in the backrest encourages beneficial movement and helps students maintain concentration, while the embracing back creates a personal zone. An upholstered seat provides extra comfort, and the ergonomically designed, movable footrest offers support in different sitting positions. The chair can also be suspended from the desk for easy cleaning.

Origo tables are available in rectangular and round versions, in several sizes and with fixed height or adjustable legs for both high and low seating. This makes it possible to vary the furniture arrangement and create solutions for different learning situations and group sizes. An HPL acoustic surface provides a durable finish that reduces noise from hard objects, while marmoleum offers a warm surface with excellent sound-dampening properties. An acoustic panel can be added for further sound reduction, while integrated micro-castors, larger castors and linking devices make it easy to move, combine and rearrange the tables as activities change.

The school’s natural meeting place

At the heart of the school, the library and tiered seating form a vibrant hub for teaching, reading and community. The library offers a calm and inspiring environment for reading, restoration and in-depth study, while the tiered seating serves as a flexible gathering place for presentations and other activities. Unlike a traditional assembly hall, it is a natural part of everyday school life and is used continuously for teaching and shared school activities.

Having the entire school in one building also creates a cohesive environment where students can move easily between the different parts of their school day, for example to the dining hall. From the outset, the ambition was to bring together specialist classrooms for practical and creative subjects as well as an on-site kitchen under one roof. The after-school club is also integrated into the school and designed to be a clear part of its activities.

Jojo – a mascot that embodies the school’s values

The physical mascot Jojo appears in several places throughout the school and accompanies students through their entire time there. Jojo the bird grows with each year group, symbolising the students’ own journey and development. In this way, the school’s physical environment becomes a living part of the story of learning.

Jojo represents the school’s values – Respect, Development, Joy, Calm and Safety – which were developed with input from class councils and the student council. They remind students of the values that shape everyday life at the school. Jojo is a woodpecker for a local reason too. Woodpeckers are a common sight in the pine trees around the school and have also come to symbolise perseverance and the importance of continuing to try. Beside the library, students are greeted by Jojo’s motto: “Never give up.” It is a simple but powerful reminder that learning is a journey in which both knowledge and the individual develop step by step.

A long-term investment in the school environment

When Strandskolan was being furnished, the long-term perspective was important. In a school, the furniture must work every day, withstand intensive use and last for many years. Quality, durability and the ability to maintain and refurbish the furniture were therefore important considerations when selecting the interior solutions.

The Principal’s advice for a successful school building project

Looking back on the process behind Strandskolan, Principal Kent Larsson has the following advice for other municipalities planning a new school:

• Involve staff and students early
• Visit other schools and facilities
• Learn from the experiences of others

Equally important is the long-term perspective: not allowing temporary trends to dictate decisions, but choosing high-quality materials and solutions that work and last over time. And when Kent sums up Strandskolan himself, he does so with both pride and optimism for the future: “A school with the wind in its sails, where students thrive and gain knowledge from exceptionally skilled staff!”