BIG, SANAA + lacaton & vassal on new aarhus school of architecture shortlist

BIG, SANAA + lacaton & vassal on new aarhus school of architecture shortlist
image courtesy of aarhus school of architecture

an international competition to design the new aarhus school of architecture is set to get underway, with the danish institution naming three pre-qualified candidates. the initial shortlist includes bjarke ingels group (BIG), japanese studio SANAA, and french firm lacaton & vassal. in total 42 teams had applied for pre-qualification. the school building will be located on the site of a former goods station, and is expected to be complete by 2020.

‘we are very pleased with the great interest that has been shown in our new school,’ says torben nielsen, rector at aarhus school of architecture. ‘over half of the applicants come from abroad and they include many big, recognized danish and foreign architects.’

‘we believe that we have found an extremely qualified field which can create some exciting and challenging proposals for the new school,’ adds lisa sørensen, project manager at the danish building & property agency. ‘they all have an uncompromising and convincing approach to architecture. lacaton & vassal master brutal and raw architecture, SANAA has a poetic simplicity, while BIG can contribute with a playful and experimental approach’.

the next stage of the competition sees the contest opened to the public, offering architects and students alike a chance to present their own ideas. in this phase, three additional candidates will be selected. together with the three pre-qualified candidates, the six teams will proceed to the restricted design competition expected to take place in autumn 2016. each candidate must present their ideas at this stage before the winner is selected in the spring of 2017.