Interplay of joints and bricks

By playing with joint colours, architects mimic the birch trees around this school in Vittinge, Sweden. Lead architect Anna Kovacs created not only a school, but also a hub for the local community.

You are an expert when it comes to designing schools and child-appropriate spaces. How do you integrate children’s needs into your design?

Anna Kovacs: The child’s perspective is the starting point for what we create. All children are different and have different needs and circumstances. At Archus, we have a very long history of designing learning environments. A school is not only a place for learning, but also for play and recreation, where staff should be able to easily adapt the day and the lessons to children’s needs. Spatiality should be a support and not an obstacle in that task. We create environments that are calm and inviting, offering a variety of possibilities. The lessons in Sweden are based on variation. The kids learn in different ways: in groups, alone, by listening, or by practicing. Outside each classroom, there are open spaces for play and creative activities, as well as smaller rooms where one can retreat. And of course, at a young age there needs to be a lot of play.

The building has a slightly bent shape and only one storey. What were your thoughts behind the layout and shape?

Anna Kovacs: We had to adhere to an existing development plan that controlled the building height. Normally, we would prefer to build on several floors to minimise the footprint and surrounding area. The school is quite small; therefore, it was manageable to put all needs on one floor. Given this fact, and because we didn’t want the parts to feel so distant, we chose to bend the building. That also created the schoolyard.

The design features large windows, a light colour palette, and a strong connection between inside and outside. Which aesthetic, functional, and pedagogic role did the forest play in your design?

Anna Kovacs: The leading idea was the proximity to the woods. We like to design our schools with a calm form and colour scheme to reduce the stimuli that surround the kids. More and more children have some kind of neuropsychiatric disability, and we need to create environments that help foster peace and quiet. We like to use natural materials, which age nicely.

You said in an earlier interview that long-term sustainability and robustness are key when choosing materials for children’s spaces. Is brick your go-to choice in these types of projects?

Anna Kovacs: Brick is a long-lasting, maintenancefree, and natural material. It is a natural choice for our schools and clients. Vittinge is also a place where bricks were produced, so there we could also draw a regional connection.

„We like to design our schools with a calm form and colour scheme to reduce the stimuli that surround the children. We need to create environments that help foster peace and quiet.” - Anna Kovacs, Archus

You were working with the façade brick EW2163 Cassis LESS in this project. Why did you choose the LESS variant?

Anna Kovacs: The Cassis has a nice colour with a lovely warm tone that gives a great softness to the façade. We used Cassis in several other projects, both schools and housing, but it was the first building in which we used the LESS variant. Sustainability is at the top of our agenda at Archus and we welcome all innovation that drives the issue forward. So, whenever there is an opportunity to reduce environmental impact, the question is not “why,” but “why not?”

As an architect at Archus, do you work a lot with bricks?

Anna Kovacs: I have been working at Archus for 17 years but originally, I come from Hungary, so it is natural for me to work with bricks. In Sweden, brick is mainly used as a façade material, almost never as a load-bearing wall element. But yes, Archus and our clients use brick a lot.

What do you like about working with bricks?

Anna Kovacs: Brick is robust and durable and gives authority. Also, the material carries a primordial human memory of mud and fire. The format is adapted to our hands, usually placed one by one. Brick has fantastic possibilities in architecture: with the infinite range of options offered for colours and joints, you can almost sculpt the façade.

More specifically, what did you like about the LESS brick range?

Anna Kovacs: I think it is a very strong option when new bricks are required. I was very pleased with the colour palette. Also, I think the entire industry should make a greater effort to improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental impacts. By that I mean all players: architects, builders, and suppliers. So, I hope the innovation continues to develop.

The pattern on the building was inspired by the patterns of the birch bark, therefore you had a mix of darker and lighter joints in the façade. How did the idea come up to work with different joint colours instead of bricks in various colours?

Anna Kovacs: The joints make up as much as 30 percent of the brickwork, therefore they have a major effect on the entire building The idea came some years ago while doing architectural drawings. The pens have different thicknesses, which puts the focus on different areas. The same focus can be mimicked with different joint colours. The technique has been used in the past to decorate façades and create patterns on gables, for example. I tested the idea in an apartment building with red brick and light and dark joints and it had a big effect. It is an easy way to create a graphic expression.

What aspects of the project are you particularly happy about?

Anna Kovacs: Aesthetically, I think the interplay of joints and bricks, the birch-inspired pattern, and the nature around the building are very pleasing. But apart from that, we were able to create a place in the village that is more than just a school. It is a school and preschool, but also a place for the local community and its children. When I drive by on a summer evening, the schoolyard is teeming with children from the area.