Bison Daycare

As architects, landscape architects, and engineers, Sweco has been the turnkey consultant on the project from stakeholder consultation and idea proposals to design, handover, and commissioning, as well as the development of the interior design concept and special furniture. Focus on reducing the house’s CO2 footprint has been paramount. Sweco worked actively in close collaboration with the municipality and user group to reduce the building’s CO2 emissions throughout the process by means of LCA calculations and various studies – including on relevant structural parts that have been incorporated into the project. The CO2 footprint of the materials has been a design parameter that stakeholders had to decide on equal terms with their aspirations for architecture and design.

The first LCA calculation was 9.35 kg/CO2/m2/year, and the last LCA calculation submitted in connection with the execution project is 8.79 kg/CO2/m2/year.

Recycling building materials for a sustainable future

The new daycare center will be built as a light and circular wooden structure and from various recycled building materials, including 3,800 bricks from the old dental building at Virring School and red bricks from an old monument, for the building’s internal curved walls. In the same way, the existing storage cupboards and wardrobes from the old facility on the site are also reused in the new daycare center.

In the process, special focus has been placed on the choice of materials, with great emphasis on limiting operating and maintenance costs as much as possible. This means, for example, that attention has been paid to optimizing the space and that the building’s circular shape facilitates an optimal building envelope. This allows for a total energy consumption that is as minimal as possible while ensuring as many functional square meters as possible are available for the children and employees.

Nature is a high priority in the landscape design – both as a learning parameter but also as fun, healthy, and challenging play spaces. A common and distribution zone surrounds the courtyard and creates space for gathering and playing in both large and small numbers, and through the common zone, all group rooms have direct access to the courtyard, which in this way is part of the institution’s opportunities to create larger gatherings. All group rooms are oriented towards the playground and have direct access via covered local areas for recreation and play.

The building is located in a very green, scenic, and hilly area close to Himmelbjerget, which in Nordic mythology is the highest mountain in the home of the gods. This creates a small oasis of child and animal life in the landscape. The diversity of nature is allowed to unfold both close to the building and in the landscape spaces, and like ripples in the water, the wildness in the landscape increases; from mowed lawn grass to wild meadows on the outside. The wild nature ensures low maintenance and operation costs, increases biodiversity, creates hiding places for animals and insects, and encourages play, curiosity, and immersion in nature’s own learning environments.

Read more about Sweco’s offer within learning environments