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Architects: Gabriel Verd Arquitectos
- Year: 2009
Text description provided by the architects. The project is built around the idea of creating a permeable building where the exterior space is always related to the interior. The general layout is done using two different and complementary axes. The transverse axis concentrates the public activity of the building and administrative area. The longitudinal axis is corresponds to the teaching areas, where classrooms are located.
Access to the building for people and vehicles is separated. The school seeks to align with the existing urban structure on its perimeter, with an enclosure dense enough to fulfill this, but in turn permeable to allow a view of the interior. When the rows of poplars grow, they will also help shade this image of the interior, and will integrate the building with its environment.
The main entrance to the building is through a garden atrium surrounded by the access circulation, the administrative and the dining areas. The entry route is covered by a concrete eave that leads the way and provides scale and uniqueness to this public building. The architectural design avoids being pretentious and complicated, but it tries to give an image of individualized architecture, reflecting its institutional character. It is a comfortable, cheerful, clean environment, which contributes not only to facilitate teaching, but also to develop in students habits of coexistence and good relationship with the school environment.
Immediately after the entrance is the concierge and the secretary, along with the administrative area and staff room. From this point we can also access directly and clearly the dining area. The entrance hall is projected as a recreational area after lunch.
The multipurpose room has a central role in shaping the building as it is on one hand, a public space, and on the other, a place for educational activities, so its central position with respect to the building is very convenient for comfortable and efficient access from any classroom. Adjacent to it, it ties in the covered porch necessary for children's recreation in adverse weather conditions. This space located in the middle of the playground does its job protecting from the rain in winter and providing shade on warm spring days. It faces south to provide this area with the maximum comfort possible. In fact, the main playground is located to the south of the site to ensure maximum sunlight in winter. The shadow of the poplars provides shade in the spring.
Uutdoor spaces are entirely designed with suitable materials according to their uses and economy, giving special attention to the representative area. The outdoor playgrounds and classrooms are located close to the indoor classrooms and incorporate sand pits, paved areas, etc. The outdoor classrooms have been designed as complementary spaces, linked to the classroom, where teaching can take place outdoors. They all have direct access to the classroom. They are paved and bound by low separations that individualize the premises. The ones located next to the outside edge of the site have a safe enclosure. We have taken into account a good orientation to achieve adequate sunlight, avoiding any northern exposure.
We have designed a simple plan articulated around circulation axes with minimum surface, allowing flexibility in the organization of spaces. We used rectangular and diaphanous shapes, which are the most desirable. Likewise, we have taken into account the possible expansion of the center with minimal constructive and distribution difficulties to the south of the site. Similarly, the concentration of the building favors security, cleaning and maintenance of the building while reducing the maintenance cost.
Teaching is concentrated on the transverse axis, and divides the students according to cycles, grouping the three and four year olds to the north and the five year olds to the south of the building next to the main playground.
Due to the constraints of the site (long and narrow with a north-south axis), we have distributed the classrooms to receive morning and afternoon light. We have avoided the north orientation at all times as we don't consider it appropriate to the climate of the area.
In order to design a quality project, appropriate to the programmatic needs of a school, we have tried to make a valuable yet simple and austere building, with sturdy construction, resistant to wear, able to withstand a long life in perfect conditions and with maintenance reduced to the minimum.
The configuration of this proposal allows the extension of the building to the south. As the neighboring site contains teaching facilities (Francisco Ayala school), we think it is relevant to raise the possibility of connecting this center with the existing ones, and with the sports area to the north.
The project has taken into account the good integration into its urban environment and its adaptation to the bioclimatic conditions of the site, using the orientations and materials available in the area.
We have taken into account gardening as an integrator between built space and free space. We have chosen as the poplar (Populus nigra) as the main tree, as this is a species native to the region, with an easy maintenance and rapid growth.
