denmark’s roskilde festival folk high school completed by MVRDV + COBE

MVRDV and COBE present the roskilde festival folk high school, designed on a once industrial site in roskilde, denmark. inside an existing factory hall, the school along with new student housing are the final pieces of MVRDV and COBE’s rockmagneten masterplan. the project, which broke ground in early 2017, joins the adjacent ragnarock museum, inaugurated in 2016. the high school is closely linked to the world-famous roskilde music festival, which annually transforms the small town into the fourth-largest city in denmark. the school delivers a ‘non-formal adult education,’ following the ideas of 19th-century danish intellectual N.F.S. grundtvig, who believed schools should educate their students to be active participants in society.

image by rasmus hjortshoj

designed by dutch firm MVRDV and danish practice COBE, the roskilde festival high school houses both students and teachers, promoting a total educational immersion. the project is the first purpose-built school of this type in denmark in 50 years, and aims to further the values of the roskilde festival through courses in music, media, leadership, politics, art, architecture, and design. the full plan includes the school, housed in a former concrete factory, two new blocks of student housing, a building housing the school’s staff, and a strip of adaptable shipping-container-based structures that will host an ever-changing group of innovative startups – many with connections to music and youth culture.

image by ossip van duivenbode

the school itself is housed in a former concrete factory, reusing the original structure’s columns and roof but replacing the walls and interior. designed as a ‘box-in-a-box” concept, colourful modules fill the main building’s warehouse shell, organized around a central spine which divides one side of the building from the other. alongside this route is a wooden tribune that acts as the communal heart of the school. these boxes host a variety of programs including an auditorium, music studio, workshop, and classrooms for dance, art, and architecture. these functions are arranged into three zones: some host pursuits of the mind, including writing and debate. others are performative, including dance and music functions, while the third zone hosts activities focused on the hand, including visual arts, architecture, and design.

image by rasmus hjortshoj