The main aim of LINK arkitektur AS is to design projects which maximize the quality of the situation and the community. This is achieved by focusing mainly on environmental issues and universal access and use. 

To design a high school in Bergen on the west coast of Norway means to build an ideal place for studying and free time activities in a region with dark winter months and rain approximately 240 days each year.

A mostly transparent facade utilizes the precious sunlight. The randomly distributed strong coloured windows, glass doors and accentuated placed furnishings create striking interior contrasts and a friendly ambience.  The concept for the choice of colour and material is that all massive interior surfaces except canteen and auditorium are white, black or gray. Reduced use of colours gives the light, which falls through the coloured glass in the facade or glass doors, a neutral projection surface to play with. This contributes to create identity and character to individual rooms.

The entrance hall is the central nerve connecting the different studies and common rooms. Designed as a landscape over three levels it offers various indoor meeting and studying areas which can, in addition be used for celebration, concerts, theatre and school gatherings.

The traffic structure is easy to read and the layout of the teaching area very flexible for different pedagogic approaches. The common rooms can be rented out individually.

The building's shape with its dynamic lines, overhanging façades and the coloured windows symbolize the dynamic, energy and light heartedness of the youth pupils.  Indoor or outdoor, the school areas are designed to enable universal access and use, and offer up to 800 students a variety of different spaces for studying, relaxing, celebration and sport.

Essentially, two external materials have been used here, both practically maintenance-free: pre-patinated copper for the roof and the façade skin and glass within aluminium for the glazed facades. All the materials were chosen for low maintenance costs over time and a distinct quality that will endure.

The building has been nominated for the Bergen municipality architecture award 2010.

Long-strip Copper Roofing

The framework of the building comprises concrete pillars with precast concrete beams and load-bearing steel girders. The roof construction consists of off-site manufactured roof elements with supporting beams of steel and insulation in between, covered by plywood and roofing felt. The massive, almost flat roof – with a fall of only 3 degrees – is covered with 0.7 mm thick copper in 14 m long strips, installed using long-strip techniques.

An article about this building was published in 30/2011 issue of Copper Architecture Forum magazine.