Architects BIG and Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium honoured with the Nordic Lighting Award

The lighting of the new multi-purpose sports hall in the middle of the schoolyard is functional and poetic, seductive and clear-cut.

Last night the multi-purpose sports hall at the high school Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium received the Nordic Lighting Award at a celebratory dinner at Ljusdagen in Stockholm. The 1000 m² hall is located in the school yard, where it is buried halfway underground. The soft upward arched roof is internally shaped as the ballistic curve of a handball thrown from one end to the other. Jury chairman, Professor Jan Ejhed, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, summarizes the project’s qualities:

“The winning proposal's main merit lies in the interaction between daylight and artificial light. The daylight’s emotional qualities interact with the functionality of the electrical lighting into a natural unity. There is a fine interplay between outside and inside. The daylight variations are reflected indoors, and at night the electrical indoor lighting contributes to the lighting outdoors in an interesting way.

The rim of the roof deck is designed as a long bench with small gaps in the wooden cladding. It filters the daylight and provides a soft wall-washing of the hall's interior concrete walls and adds a hovering effect to the ceiling. In the evening, the schoolyard is lit by LED luminaires mounted under the benches and chairs on the arched wooden deck.

“The winning project is an innovative example of how light and architecture may interact in a classical way and at the same time care for current design, new technology, energy consumption and durability requirements," Jan Ejhed says.

Architect m.a.a. Finn Nørkjær, partner at BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), received the award on behalf of Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium and the consultant team behind the new multi-purpose hall. He said:

"We are delighted with this recognition, which shows that our efforts to integrate light in the architecture have been successful. We appreciate when light is a natural part of the architecture and when it is impossible to take it away without the architecture itself disappearing”.

The Nordic Lighting Award is presented by the Northern Light Committee, which consists of the illumination engineering societies of the Nordic region. The prize has been awarded every second year since 2000, and it is the fourth time the award goes to a Danish project.

The Nordic Lighting Award The Nordic Lighting Award was established by the Northern Light Committee, which consists of Danish Lighting Center, Suomen Valoteknillinen Seura in Finland, Lyskultur in Norway, Ljóstæknifélag in Iceland and Ljuskultur in Sweden. The aim of the award is to highlight the special lighting culture of the Nordic region.

More information and high resolution images can be obtained from Dorte Gram, Danish Lighting Center.
Tel.+45 47 17 18 00 or dg@centerforlys.dk.

Project team:

Client: Gl. Hellerup Gymnasium

Architect and lighting design: BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group

Consulting engineers: EKJ Rådgivende Ingeniører

Client consultant: Grontmij A/S

Contractor: C.G. Jensen A/S

Electrician: H. Helbo Hansen A/S

Lighting suppliers:_Sandlux, Delux Denmark, Fagerhult, KC Light og Osram.

Picture 1:
In the schoolyard the rooftop hill constitutes a much needed and informal gathering venue. The light under the chairs and tables delineate each piece of furniture accurately while adding a beautiful graphical pattern to the total overall impression. Photo: Jens Lindhe.