Pitch perfect

Our project at Radiomarken, an institution dedicated to children with special needs, involved replacing an existing building situated between two traditional villas with a new structure three times its size, while maintaining the original footprint.

The central concept was to unify the existing villas beneath a new, large pitched roof. Although the existing villas are considered unspectacular, the new infill echoes the original architecture thereby fostering visual harmony and cohesion on the site.

To help prevent the student from distractions, our client specified an ‘introvert’ design featuring a sequence of smaller, blind rooms. This requirement posed a potential challenge, as such a design could easily result in a rigid, sterile environment and contribute to the typical institutional feeling of a new build school.

The solution emerged from the architecture of the pitched roof, with all its skewed angles and loft spaces, which allowed us to manage construction efficiently while simultaneously increasing intimacy and engaging the senses. Ultimately, every single room was transformed into a unique space.

Thus, the new building utilizes materials already present on the site but transforms them into novel architecture and whole new typologies, such as the 'Rhombus-dormer'.