Hedda-Andersson-Gymnasium in Lund / Hedda Anderssongymnasiet - Samverkansentreprenad

Tight Together focuses on social sustainability and the idea of the school of the future as an open and welcoming environment. Education depends on exchanges between people, and environments for learning must be designed to support such interaction. A school environment must therefore foster a sense of security as well as stimulation and health. The design offers spaces for both activity and recreation. It takes advantage of Lund’s green areas with a central park for study, breaks, and lunch—a generous, green, south-facing schoolyard for all.

“We have tried to design the school from the inside out, and to create familiar and reassuring spaces throughout the building,” says Joakim Lyth, Director of Wingårdh’s Malmö office. “But at the same time, we want to allow the school to meet the city so it doesn’t become introverted.”

The vision for the Hedda Andersson Secondary School is another chapter in Lund’s long history as a seat of education. For thousands of students, this is going to be a portal to the future and to continued studies.

“We look forward to contributing to the development of the Hedda Andersson Secondary School,” says Anders Tyrrestrup of AART Architects. “With our experience from educational buildings throughout the Nordic region, we bring a deep professionalism and great dedication to the project, with a clear aim to create an open and inviting secondary school to the benefit of students, teachers, and—in a broader perspective—the whole city of Lund.”

The school complex is made up four interlinked units, one for each educational program. The parts are joined vertically by open atriums, and further woven together through the shared spaces of the ground level. These include the reception, café, library, administration, dining hall, and auditorium assembled along an open street—the heart of the school. The building will allow each degree program to express its own individuality while also promoting a common community.

The point of departure for the design of the exterior is Lund’s long tradition of higher educational buildings made of brick. It is a sustainable material in the long run, and the red color resonates with the buildings in the surrounding area.

“The school building develops and expands the downtown character westward,” says Gert Wingårdh, the founder of Wingårdh Architects. “Our ambition has been to create a meaningful encounter between the school and the surrounding city, an open building where society and school can meet.”

Wingårdh Architects has prior experience creating educational environments, including Ale Secondary School; Mimers Hus Secondary School in Kungälv; the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm; and Aranäs Secondary School in Kungsbacka, which won the Kasper Salin Prize for the building of the year in Sweden.

The project will be executed in collaboration with AART Architects, whose previously educational work includes the Viktoria School in Skara; the VUC Syd Educational Center in Haderslev, Denmark; and the Musholm Recreation Center in Korsør, Denmark. The competition scheme was developed in collaboration with the Danish firm of Bogl Landscape Architects.

Construction on Hedda Andersson Secondary School is expected to begin in 2020 and to be completed in 2022.