- This spring, we won the award for «best public construction project in the design phase» during the BREEAM Awards 2019 in London. It is a result we are proud of, and it is great that it is recognized internationally, says Morten Oddvik, who is an associate professor and digital educator at Horten VGS.
The 1800m2 school building that was ready for school start in the fall of 2019 is a plus building, which means that the building generates more electricity than it uses. A number of discreet design steps have also been taken to make the common areas open and inclusive, while preventing unwanted events. Here they have really thought of everything.
World-class learning technology
- It is important that technology first and foremost promotes learning and does not hold it back. That was the whole premise when we started this project, he says.
Norway is at the very top of the world when it comes to learning technology, so during the planning process, Oddvik and his colleagues traveled around to other modern school buildings to get inspiration. - What we often met were so-called "future classrooms" with duffel bags, VR glasses and 3D printers.And
The choice therefore landed on a total of 189 whiteboards and 181 screens, 70 percent of which are interactive touch screens from market-leading Promethean.
Plug and play
Among the success criteria for the AV equipment to promote learning was reliability and ease of use.
- When you've grown up with both smartphones and tablets, touch screens in the classroom are something that "just has to be this way." At the same time, if the technology is too advanced to use, it can quickly become an annoyance for teachers. New technology in school is often associated with start-up difficulties, but here it has gone completely painless - it just works, says Oddvik.
The digital educator goes on to say that the interactive screens have helped the teachers to engage the students in the teaching.
- We see that our teachers have become very trygge on use, and that they have full focus on teaching. Using touch-based screens frees teachers from their laptops - you can use body language and involve students more in what is to be taught, he points out.
One of the success factors for teachers becoming comfortable using the new touch screens is that the school has the same layout and rig in every room.
- This means that it is the same equipment in a group room as it is in a classroom. In this way, teachers can prepare and test new features or teaching methods in a closed classroom before using them in the classroom, says Oddvik.
Watch video of this success story
- We are very proud to have been part of such a large and important project as Horten VGS. Especially when we see the result, which is a great school building - simply a signal building. (Runar Sand, Braathe Gruppen)
Worry-free IT everyday
Braathe Gruppen AS has delivered the AV solutions for common areas, classrooms and meeting rooms in the building. Braathe were involved in the design phase as advisers to ensure that Horten VGS got exactly the technical solutions they wanted. They also did all of the project management and ensured that delivery and assembly went painlessly.
- The big challenge with the project was the logistics. To put it into perspective, a pallet made 4-6 screens, depending on the size of the screens. At the same time, we had a certain amount of time pressure to reach school starts, says project manager Runar Sand in Braathe Gruppen.
In addition to all the screens and whiteboards let Braathe a total of 7,5 kilometers of cables and 180 meters of duct. All of the installation was done over eight weeks this summer at the same time as all of the furniture was delivered, so there was a battle for space.
- You can imagine what it is like to unpack 181 screens outdoors and make sure that all of the packaging ends up in the right recycling containers, while you keep track of remote controls, cables, wall mounts, brackets and screws without it becoming chaos, points out the project manager.
One of the first things that catches the eye inside the school is a massive spiral staircase in wood, which is the world's largest of its kind. This was the fitters from Braathe well acquainted with this summer.
- It turned out that the biggest whiteboard boards were too big for the lift, so we had to use our legs, says Sand.
- We are very proud to have been involved in such a large and important project as Horten VGS. Especially when we see the result, which is a great school building - simply a signal building, Sand concludes.
