Growing Up and Getting By. Группа авторов

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СКАЧАТЬ history can be an advantage when competing with schools that offer more contemporary assets. To continue this discussion in detail, we want to elaborate on the importance of architecture and school buildings, and, in particular, how these buildings are used strategically.

      The strategic use of architecture and school buildings

      The strategic manifestation of architecture and school buildings has been analysed before. Brooks and Waters (2015: 91), for instance, illustrate the use of images by elite schools and how these ‘support a narrative stressing tradition, stability and reliability’. Similar results could be found in the Swedish context, yet, in the contemporary Swedish system, the strategic use of architecture and school buildings varies substantially. Some schools put much effort into ‘the right location’, including the school buildings, whereas others rely more specifically on the geographical placement.

      While many pre-1992 independent schools are housed in ordinary school buildings dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, recent schools either have to purchase or rent office and residential buildings. These buildings vary in age, appearance and location. In some cases, they have been thoroughly converted into schools. In other words, little separates them from the regular outline of the city. This makes it hard to define what constitutes a contemporary school building. There are several reasons for this development. Mostly it is related to limited opportunities due to restricted space and real estate prices within the inner-city. As a consequence, whereas public schools – with a few exceptions – have a permanent address, independent schools do occasionally re-locate.

      The construction of a historical legacy

Schools and educational firms that are able to purchase or rent centrally located, historical buildings, regularly use the term ‘ancient’ as an imaginative description. It is a term with symbolic connotations, which is used to create a feeling of authenticity (Zukin, 2008) and security. Therefore, it is especially interesting when it is used by schools that have a limited history. One recent example comes from the re-location of Jensen Södra which is one of two hierarchically low–mid segment¹⁰ (Forsberg, 2015) inner-city schools, owned by a for-profit firm that provides education from pre-school level to adult extension studies. When Jensen Södra strategically re-located from a modest inner-city office building in 2017 to its current location in Gamla stan (‘Old town’), the term ancient became a signum. The webpage states ‘You can find us in ancient premises in the old town in the city centre of Stockholm’ (Jensen Södra, 2019¹¹). To a certain degree, the present building (Figure 2.1) does have a historical legacy and it is located in one of the older regions of Stockholm. Still, education has not been the primary use of the building. Rather, the location and building are used as a way to emulate older schools and gain prestige.

      

       Figure 2.1: Jensen Södra school

In contrast, some prestigious independent schools have been able to purchase buildings that were once used as schools or converted houses that architecturally resemble schools. Accompanied by the ‘right’ symbolic assets, such as networks and renowned board members, these schools have grown to become prominent agents on the contemporary educational market. A further asset, and significant difference to other independent schools, is the non-profit marker. In other words, rather than capitalising on students and redistributing capital to shareholders, money is relocated into the organisation. This means a less commercialised brand, that mainly appeals to students from the higher social stratum. One example is centrally located Campus Manilla, with 88% of the students having highly educated parents (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2019). The school offers primary, secondary and post-16 education and has in recent years attracted the attention of well-known families – among others, the royal family. Today, Campus Manilla inhabits the premises of the historical institution, Manilla, a former school for children with hearing loss. To illustrate the importance, the building is firmly centred in the school insignia (Campus Manilla, 2019¹²).

Another example is the Viktor Rydbergs School Foundation, with four sought-after post-16 schools in the Stockholm region. Two of these are located in the inner-city area. One of these two schools, Viktor Rydbergs gymnasium Odenplan is located in a former hospital building. The building has experienced substantial renovation and today looks strikingly similar to the prestigious public schools in Stockholm. As seen in Figure 2.2, both the architectural design with red bricks and the inscription over the main entrance of Viktor Rydbergs gymnasium Odenplan (on the right) emulates the design of public Norra Real (on the left) and Södra Latin, both dating back to the 1890s. Viktor Rydbergs gymnasium Odenplan even refers to the school as a ‘cultural landmark’ and continues by mentioning the construction date of 1885 (Viktor Rydberg Odenplan, 2019),¹³ creating a similar historical legacy as older elite schools.

      

       Figure 2.2: Norra Real and Viktor Rydbergs gymnasium Odenplan

      Something new, something borrowed

      Most recently established inner-city independent schools do not have historical buildings. Typically, they provide educational settings in centrally located, residential or office buildings. As Figure 2.3 displays, sometimes store fronts are used as access points and entrances. Distinct from older inner-city elite schools or more recent schools inhabiting historical buildings, these schools also claim the profits from being centrally located. Consequently, there are several differences in how profits are made from the symbolic assets of geography and architecture.

      

       Figure 2.3: Two independent schools inhabiting office and residential buildings

      One other interesting strategy could be found in the appearance of certain independent schools. For instance, the effort to capitalise from locational profits leads some post-16 schools to share a common space. When the concentration is this intense, students can choose to attend one of several comparable schools in the same area. In fact, schools owned by the same or competing companies occasionally share the same building. These agglomerations are often used by for-profit enterprises who provide smaller educational settings, often supply specific educational programmes and attract fewer high-achieving students. An illustrative example is provided in Figure 2.4 where three different post-16 schools share an office building from СКАЧАТЬ