Vittra Telefonplan

How do you create a school without any walls? In the 30 schools of the Swedish free school organisation Vittra there are no classes or classrooms – instead, the students are taught in groups according to level based on the school’s pedagogical principles of ’the watering hole’, ’the show-off’, ’the cave’, ’the campfire’ and ’the laboratory’ – didactic approaches that create different types of learning and teaching situations. In Vittra, they do not believe in regular classes and the school organization’s vision is to create an every day for the individual students where individual development, a living cultural work, and challenging learning environments are most important.

photography by © Kim Wendt

In connection with the establishment of a new Vittra school in Stockholm, Telefonplan, Rosan Bosch Ltd. has created the school’s interior with spatial divisions and significant custom design. The interior takes it the point of departure in Vittra’s pedagogical principles and serves as a pedagogical tool for development in the every day of the school. Instead of classical divisions with chairs and tables, a giant iceberg, for example, serves as cinema, platform, and room for relaxation, and sets the frame for many different types of learning. Moreover, flexible laboratories make it possible to work hands-on with themes and projects.

photography by © Kim Wendt

The design and interior are accustomed to Vittra’s active work with digital media and a generally digitalised didactic where the children’s laptops are their most important tool in the everyday – whether they are sitting, lying or standing up when working.

At Telefonplan, challenging custom design, pedagogical zones and room for the individual student have created a space for differentiated learning in a school where the physical space is the school’s most important tool in their everyday and pedagogical development.