New educational facility in Denmark's industrial town of Silkeborg
Performers House is a modern interpretation of a Danish folk high school. With its exceptional scope and a unique cross-cultural international environment, the school offers ideal opportunities to develop young creative talent. Spacious performance areas, teaching rooms, a canteen, café, student accommodation as well as housing for teaching staff combine to create optimal learning conditions for performance art students.
Performers House is situated at the old Paper Mill’s revitalized industrial area in Silkeborg, Denmark. The old Boiler Building has been redeveloped as a winter garden, teaching room and performance area, while an adjacent plaza links the historic building with its modern counterpart. This area can divided into small, intimate urban spaces, creating a thriving urban space, allowing interaction between the school and its urban surroundings.
The architectural style and choice of materials are simple and bold. The new building’s façade of raw corten-steel was a deliberate choice to create a simplified building volume expressing the area’s industrial heritage. A simple and strong - in time burning red - sculpture which imitates the tradition in an ultra-modern way. In this way the building fits into the existing context and its history.
Transverse sightlines extend horizontally across the building and vertically up through the floors. The demarcation lines, between interior and exterior and between the individual elements in the academy organism, are continually being redrawn. On the ground floor, internal folding walls and red curtains can be opened and closed, provide endless potential for varying learning environments. The façade is equally versatile; shutters on the main stage fold back and can slide to one side, while the large glass sections can be opened up, making it possible for passers-by to hear music or catch a glimpse of theatrical performances.
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