WHO IS GOING TO DESIGN THE NEW SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE IN DENMARK?

How does one build a new school of architecture where the ambition is to have a creative process, where the framework for the school as an institution is rethought while observing a tight budget? This will be one of the main themes when the competition for the first newly constructed school of architecture in Denmark is launched.

Two separate architecture competitions to be launched

As kick-off for the NEW AARCH project the Danish Building & Property Agency and Aarhus School of Architecture will conduct a large, open, international design competition with a subsequent traditional restricted design competition. The participants in the restricted design competition will consist of the three winners from the open design competition and three prequalified teams.

The Danish Building & Property Agency and Aarhus School of Architecture have in an untraditional manner chosen to prequalify for the restricted design competition prior to the open design competition in order to create transparency concerning who will be invited to participate in the restricted design competition along with the winners of the open design competition prior to the release of the open design competition.

The goal is to reach out to a broad group of participants. The Danish Building & Property Agency and Aarhus School of Architecture therefore encourage both young aspiring architects and established architectural firms who are not prequalified for the restricted design competition to participate in the open design competition.

Kristian Lyk Jensen, Vice Director of the Danish Building & Property Agency, and Torben Nielsen, Rector of Aarhus School of Architecture, agree that “We hope that the entire industry will participate in creating first newly constructed school of architecture in Denmark”.

Important milestones

• Beginning of September 2015: The design contest notice with an invitation to tender for prequalification for the restricted design competition will be published in TED, bygst.dk and aarch.dk.
• Beginning of December 2015: The open design competition will be released.

Keep up, align your computer and don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to design the future school of architecture in the heart of Aarhus.

The further process

In order to create greater budgetary certainty, the project is expected to be offered later on as a design-and-built contract based on a reverse invitation to tender. The winner of the restricted design competition will be associated with the design-and-built contractor and will thereby manage the design completely from tentative idea to finished construction.