Project name
Location
Competition
Design
Gross floor area
Client

Kirkkojärvi school - Butterfly
Espoo
Open competition
2005
8800m2
City of Espoo

The competition entry "butterfly" for a new school in Espoo is situated freely in it's surroundings. The compact free form makes the big building more like a pavillion in a park. The biomorphic form helps to preserve the existing trees on the site. The curvy forms invite visitors to enter the building while the four wings create separate home areas for different functions. Between the wings there are sheltered courtyards for each group of pupils. In the middle of the home wing there is a semi-public lobby for communication and different activities. The common hall in the middle connects the wings together and provides the pupils with a place to meet.
The pillar structure allows maximum flexibility of spaces. The facade is covered with sunscreen louvres that are painted with different colours on the two sides. The building changes it's colour depending on the viewing angle.
The green roof with grass connects the building to the park. Rain water is filtered and used on the site to water the school's plantations. The incoming air is prewarmed or precooled in an underground channel. The concrete floors balance the changes in temperature. The unequal forms of the two floors create small balconies allowing direct connection to nature as well as shelter for the schoolyards.