Kuokkala School
Case Study by Reino Tapaninen, chief architect
National Board of Education, Finland

Floor & Site Plan | AIA Amsterdam Home

KUOKKALA UPPER LEVEL SCHOOL AND REGIONAL CENTRAL KITCHEN, JYVÄSKYLÄ

Kuokkala Upper Level School (13-15-year-olds) was completed in 1994. It was designed in 1989‑92 for 400 pupils. While relieved from the teaching duty during the planning period, the headmaster drafted a pedagogic vision for the school together with the other teachers.

The school operates on the principles of openness and flexibility, project work and self-motivated learning, and knowledge acquisition.

The building was designed by Arkkitehtitoimisto Kauko Lahti, an architectural firm from Jyväskylä.

Gross area = 6,410 m2
(= 68,970 sq ft)

Net area = 4,450 m2
(= 47,880 sq ft), of which the share of the dining facilities and central kitchen 766 m2 (= 8,240 sq ft)

Net area / pupil = 11.1 m2 (= 119 sq ft) (incl. the central kitchen)

Volume  = 31,220 m3
(= 1,102,380 cu ft)

Total cost including furniture and equipment ca. FIM 60 million = 8,843,000 USD, of which the share of the central kitchen FIM 11 million = 1,621,000 USD

View an annotated floor and site plan of the Kuokkala school at: Kuokkala Plan

Reino Tapaninen, chief architect
National Board of Education, Finland
P.O. Box 380
FIN-00531 Helsinki, Finland
Phone +358 9 77477121 | Fax +358 9 77477197 | E-mail: reino.tapaninen@oph.fi