The Ivalo School Center rises on the banks of the Ivalo River in one of the most beautiful school building locations in Finland. Suomen Opppimaisema Oy has been planning the functionality of this unique school and cultural center in its many functions in cooperation with Alt Arkkitehdit Oy and Lehto Tilat Oy. The school center houses Ivalo's school activities from pre-school to upper secondary school, and there will be approximately 500 students in the school. In addition to school activities, the building serves as a meeting, hobby and cultural space for the citizens of the municipality. The sports hall, lobby gallery space and high-quality auditorium-cinema also enable the organization of conferences, concerts, trade fairs and other public events in the building.
The pedagogical design solution of the school and culture center supports co-teaching, exploratory study and the implementation of versatile pedagogical solutions. In the design of the learning spaces, special attention has been paid to adaptability and efficient and versatile use of the spaces.
The heart of the building is the lobby, exhibition space, canteen and auditorium. Around the heart area of the first floor are the learning cells for pre-school, grades 3-4 and grades 5-6, as well as the skill and art subject zone. On the second floor, in the heart area, there is a cozy and multi-purpose upper lobby, which offers views of the canteen, the side stage of the auditorium and the Ivalojoki River. Around the heart of the second floor are the learning spaces for the Sámi language, learning cells for grades 1-2, middle school and high school, and learning spaces for natural science. The upper lobby functions as a free-form meeting place and especially as a study space for high school students. At the same time, it also serves as a comfortable lounge for events organized in the auditorium.
With the new school and culture center, Ivalo's schools from preschool to high school will operate in the same building. The new situation also brings with it the opportunity to develop the existing operating culture and also to create a completely new, common school center culture. Suomen Oppimaisema Oy has been planning and building the foundation for the operating culture of the new school center with future users.