The Forest Nexus: A School for Shared Life
Awarded second prize in Vilnius, ENTROPIC and 2L Architects & Engineers’ high-school proposal brings learning, community life and the surrounding forest together.
A school can contribute to the life of a neighbourhood as well as the education of its students. The Forest Nexus explores that possibility through overlapping spaces for learning, culture, recreation and community.
In October 2023, the proposal received second prize in the competition for a new high school in Vilnius, Lithuania. Developed by ENTROPIC with 2L Architects & Engineers, it brings three programme areas into an interconnected architectural framework.
Inspired by the logic of a Venn diagram, the spaces where the volumes meet become the social heart of the school. They support informal learning, conversation and shared activity, giving the areas between classrooms an active role rather than treating them as circulation alone. Different programmes retain their identity while benefiting from a common centre.
The surrounding forest shapes the organisation. Compact siting near the street is intended to minimise disturbance to mature trees. Paths from the landscape continue over an accessible roof, extending public activity without spreading the building across the site.
Inside, connected classrooms and shared spaces create opportunities for both focused study and exchange. The proposal links formal education to the encounters that take place around it: a conversation after a lesson, a cultural event or an activity shared with the wider community.
The second-prize recognition acknowledges a vision of education rooted in place, where a school becomes a connection between the city, its people and the landscape.
Project team: Magdalena Mróz, Geoffrey James Eberle, Maria Antonia Franco, Elena Paleckytė, Gabrielė Rinkevičiūtė, Gytis Lietvaitis and Simay Özkayagan.
We thank our partners at 2L Architects & Engineers and the competition organisers. Read the original LinkedIn announcement.
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