Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Science Center
Daylight and modern architecture, besides overall high quality and warm aesthetic design, are not the typical ingredients in school and learning facilities within the science field. But the venture seems to pay off if you want talent, research and education to be in premier league.
Architect:
Photographer:
Client/investor:
City:
Country: |
Kjær & Richter A/S
Laila Halsteen
The Foundation Sorø Academy Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller
Sorø
Denmark |
Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Science Center
Daylight and modern architecture, besides overall high quality and warm aesthetic design, are not the typical ingredients in school and learning facilities within the science field. But the venture seems to pay off if you want talent, research and education to be in premier league.
Architect:
Photographer:
Client/investor:
City:
Country: |
Kjær & Richter A/S
Laila Halsteen
The Foundation Sorø Academy Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller
Sorø
Denmark |
Concept
Dominated by basement laboratories, the science and science research field is rarely known for user-friendly environments or grand architecture. For all ‘math-based’ sciences, architecture seems to be considered less important and this also somehow relates to the surroundings in which the educational work and research are taking place. Luckily Sorø Academy and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Science Centre prove that it does not necessarily have to be that way.
The concept dates back to a 1st prize won by the Danish architects Kjær & Richter A/S in a competition in 2007. The architects have done a magnificent job: Not only is the architecture of the building quite spectacular and it lies in a beautiful countryside, but the well-designed learning facilities with plenty of natural daylight seem to encourage, stimulate and develop the most talented students within the science field. The Danish Ministry of Education wants to highlight the science centre as one of the best and most modern places of education when Denmark will be hosting the international Olympic Games of Science in 2013.
Concept
Dominated by basement laboratories, the science and science research field is rarely known for user-friendly environments or grand architecture. For all ‘math-based’ sciences, architecture seems to be considered less important and this also somehow relates to the surroundings in which the educational work and research are taking place. Luckily Sorø Academy and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Science Centre prove that it does not necessarily have to be that way.
The concept dates back to a 1st prize won by the Danish architects Kjær & Richter A/S in a competition in 2007. The architects have done a magnificent job: Not only is the architecture of the building quite spectacular and it lies in a beautiful countryside, but the well-designed learning facilities with plenty of natural daylight seem to encourage, stimulate and develop the most talented students within the science field. The Danish Ministry of Education wants to highlight the science centre as one of the best and most modern places of education when Denmark will be hosting the international Olympic Games of Science in 2013.
Location and structure
Sorø Science Centre is designed as a circular building with 3 levels. It appears as a solitary volume on the shore of the nearby Sorø lake, like an anchor naturally linked to the range of significant individual buildings in the park around the historical Sorø Academy that is dating back several centuries.
The science centre building is of a simple and powerful design in which the open, internal structure with lecture hall and laboratories meets the red brick façade, penetrating it in a way that creates a visual contact to the surrounding scenic environment. Concurrently with the construction of the science centre, which was completed for official opening late August 2009, a lodging house named ‘Talent Hotel Frederik VI’ was built nearby.
On top of the roof 3 VELUX skylights with vertical bands of windows create an architectural result that has somehow become a hybrid between a biotech factory (seen from the outside) and a cathedral (seen from the inside).
Materials and daylight
Red bricks are the main material used for the exterior; a local element used in particular for the circular 2500 m2 science building. The façade is designed as a kind of relief pattern with Flensburg bricks in vertical and horizontal bands providing a quiet, but also warm and lively wall surface.
Interior
Inside the science centre the visitor faces a surprising contrast to the linear outer circle. Attention has been on creating a square in the circle, where a central atrium is being used as lecture hall with 120 large auditorium seats, creating a mini indoor arena or stage.
Other areas in the round science centre hold laboratories, classrooms, offices, a canteen and a quiet room. The level of ambition is much higher than for ordinary classrooms for up to high school level. Laboratories in the science centre are almost similar to those found in modern biotech industries as the students’ workstations are of very high quality. Among other technical features, the workstations are equipped with fixed and mobile fume cupboards and there are special rooms designed for experiments with laser light and simple gene modification.
Outdoor workstations have been set up on the terraces, so the students have the opportunity of involving flora and fauna from the surrounding nature in their work. ).
Economy
The cost of the science centre and lodging house/talent hotel is 150 million DKK. Most of the funds - 130 million DKK – have been donated by A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Foundation for general purposes. Inventory, laboratory and teaching equipment have cost another approx. 15 million DKK.
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