Transformation of Design School Kolding

March 2023, Design School Kolding will move out of the existing buildings in Aagade 10. Builders will move in to transform the buildings into something different, and better for sure. It’s needed. The facades are beginning to crackle, the windows are leaking, the spaces are not put to optimal use, the workshops need an upgrade and a more central position. Just to mention a few things.

During the transformation we will make room for new opportunities. We will challenge habits and conventions, experiment with new ways of being together, test new formats for how to be an educational institution.

For instance, could we have a course that takes place exclusively in nature, as one Design for Planet student suggested? Yes, that could definitely make sense!

Or could we have a prominent researcher give a talk on the foyer stage of the local theatre to inspire us while we enjoy a café latte? Why not?!

Or could we begin to open and show student exhibitions at Museum Kolding on a regular basis?

We dream of all of these things and more. And we invite you to dream along: How might we create the most inspiring academic year during the rebuilding?

Please write your suggestions on the board in the canteen and we'll post them here to inspire each other!

On the boards in the canteen you can ask questions about the transformation and its implications. We will reply as quickly as possible - here and on the boards in the canteen.

Also please join the regular online meetings to stay up to date. Every other Wednesday there’s a meeting for students, and every other Monday there’s a meeting for staff. Check your Outlook calendar; you’ve already received the invitations.

Design School Kolding wants to be Denmark’s and one of Europe’s leading design universities, and this requires an update of our buildings.

Within the transformed buildings, sustainability will be the defining criterion for all decisions in the process in terms of the climate/environment of the house and the study environment. Your proposal must meet three overall criteria: sustainability, constructability and functionality.

Design School Kolding separates itself from other universities by having a distinct hands-on approach to education, research and collaboration with companies and organisations. Therefore, the workshops in our new and transformed building must be visible to the outside world. We want to be a laboratory for experimentation. For companies, citizens and organisations. And not least for the surrounding Campus, which is sprouting all around our school these years. The atmosphere of our school is warm and inviting and makes you want to stay almost 24/7.

Design School Kolding is a frontrunner in the field of sustainability, and we have worked with dedication on the topic for more than 20 years. That is why we don’t want a new building. Instead, we want to transform our existing building. It has an industrial, stringent look that reminds you of the historic Bauhaus, which emphasized the importance of craftsmanship when it comes to creating solutions that are meaningful to people and society.

Our new design university must put students at the centre and be a community that oozes design and has room for differences. Our building and its surroundings must provide a framework that supports the designers of tomorrow in unfolding their creativity and their full potential. The building must give us a sense of belonging, a professional home, and show the world that we are rooted in craftsmanship as well as visionary design thinking. The kind that will help bring Denmark and the world into a future that is more sustainable, open and playful.

Lene Tanggaard, Rector of Design School Kolding