Beyond the Bell. Reclaiming Closed Public Schools for Local Communities - Reactivating Byplanvejens Skole through Transformative Design Strategies and Identity Theory
Authors
Skousbøll, Jeppe Majland ; Christensen, Laura Krøgh
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-06-02
Pages
186
Abstract
This thesis brings together architecture and urban design to explore how closed schools can be returned to local communities. Byplanvejens Skole serves as a pilot project for testing transformation principles and methods. Using transformative design strategies and ideas from identity theory—how people and places shape each other—the thesis examines how vacant schools can be reactivated to support social sustainability, strengthen local identity, and encourage more responsible, community-led urban development. Based on the work at Byplanvejens Skole, a general guide for transforming closed schools in Denmark is proposed with four steps: Reveal, Respect, Reframe, Reinforce. The thesis also presents the site’s transformation into a new area called Gygia and highlights the key concepts that guided this process.
Specialet forener arkitektur og byplanlægning og undersøger, hvordan lukkede skoler kan gives tilbage til lokalsamfundet. Byplanvejens Skole fungerer som pilotprojekt til at afprøve transformative principper og metoder. Med udgangspunkt i transformative designstrategier og identitetsteori – forstået som hvordan mennesker og steder former hinandens identitet – undersøger specialet, hvordan tomme skoler kan genaktiveres til at styrke social bæredygtighed, styrke lokal identitet og fremme en mere ansvarlig, lokalt drevet byudvikling. På baggrund af arbejdet med Byplanvejens Skole foreslås en generel vejledning til omdannelse af lukkede skoler i Danmark med fire trin: Reveal, Respect, Reframe, Reinforce. Afhandlingen præsenterer desuden forvandlingen fra Byplanvejens Skole til det nye område Gygia og fremhæver de begreber, der har været centrale i denne proces.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords