Christer Holger from Skapaskolan discusses his experiences using BAUX products and his vision of a meaningful school environment.
How do you reimagine school as a modern meaningful space that inspires learners to interact and work creatively? Skapaskolan’s founder, Christer Holger, has spent the last seven years learning just how it’s done. Christer’s key insight is that the building and internal spaces are as important as the people within it.
Why did you start Skapaskolan?
Well, we started with an idea, to create a meaningful school and a learning revolution, where learners have the courage to follow their dreams. Everything has grown from that thought.
What were some of the challenges you faced early on?
Buildings were a constant challenge, we moved several times, but each time we discovered something new about the way space affects learning. The experiences from these different buildings led us to define the kind of space we wanted to create.
What insights can you share about your experiences?
Creating the right kinds of spaces for interaction is very important for us. Creativity happens when everything is available and you can quickly meet and discuss ideas. But all this interaction creates noise. Traditional classrooms are often one open space filled with hard surfaces, which amplifies and reflects noise off walls and tables. That means one big space isn’t always ideal. You need to have small spaces where students can meet.
How important is the acoustic design of a classroom?
I would say it’s essential. One of the core insights I learnt from talking to teachers is that interaction creates noise. Modern classrooms have lots of interaction but the design concept of the classroom hasn’t really changed since schools started. If you want to have lots of interaction you need to have good acoustic design.
Apart from great acoustics, how do BAUX products contribute to the Skapaskolan experience?
Well the great thing about BAUX is the possibility to create designs with colour accents for different rooms. We use these accents for different year levels and room functions. The colours bring an ambience to the space and that really helps the interaction. BAUX products also fit well with our vision of a sustainable school built from natural materials.
What would your dream BAUX project look like?
Well after the COVID crisis, with so many people working from home, I think society might reimagine the way we work. Co-working spaces are one solution but people are often put off from open co-working solutions because of the noise. It would be really cool to use BAUX in that kind of environment.
Discover more BAUX projects for more inspiration.