“We human beings are affected by the rooms we act in. In the traditional school there are always corridors connecting classrooms. These kinds of facilities consume areas without being pedagogically effective. School DPS Abohar designs, builds and operates have no traditional corridors or classrooms. We have rooms of different sizes and character because we all learn differently. All our premises are for study and learning, not only transportation, of small or bigger groups or for individual studies, and they are all designed to address different individuals´ different needs. That is my contribution to personalized education.”

Kenneth Gardestad, Chief Architect at Kunskapsskolan.

Kenneth Gardestad has been responsible for the designing and reshaping all buildings since the start of Kunskapsskolan. Early in his career he was involved in designing educational institutions in Sweden and other parts of the world. Kenneth Gardestad has a Degree in Architecture from The Royal Institute in Stockholm and a Master of Science degree from MIT in Boston. He has received several awards for his architecture.

The architecture in the KED program has been recognized and awarded around the world. Our architectural design is an important tool in our formula for outstanding education. The purpose of architecture in our philosophy is not just to create an icon or a statement in society, but to create the optimal environment for learning.

The room as a resource

The room – in the wide sense of the word – is as a resource for student’s different ways of learning that can be seen in two perspectives. First, all our premises are designed to suit the various needs of different students and learning tasks while in school. Second, students have the option to choose other places than the school to work with their studies – provided this is beneficial to the learning process.

Our premises are modern and innovative in design. They give an open, inviting and spacious impression, characterized by bright colors, aesthetic yet functional light and frequent glass walls. This unique design creates security that provides peace and quiet for working, while at the same time facilitates supervision.

Kunskapsskolan schools have very few corridors and spaces that are not used for learning purposes. Instead, there are a variety of purpose-designed, multi functional facilities for lectures, group sessions and individual studies. This approach allows the faculty to use the facility optimally for each individual learning task.

Besides being a superior design for pedagogical reasons, this provides a better use of space and hence economy and creates greater opportunities to convert premises originally built for other purposes to schools. Not the least, it creates a learning environment that resembles that of higher education and modern work life. Just what schools are supposed to be about – a preparation for life beyond school and for lifelong learning.