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Architects: Abar + Ovidi Alum
Text description provided by the architects. Our kindergarten is located near a future park in front a public building, in Sant Pere Pescador, by the Mediterranean Sea, in Northern Spain. It‘s a small school of one level consistent of a compact set of building and courtyard with a formal simplicity that optimizes its adaptation to the place.
The precast white concrete brick walls and large glass windows define a rational architecture combines itself with a vitalist counterpoint of painted steel enclosures and large silk-screened porch awnings.
5 main areas are disposed (3 classrooms, multipurpose and administration space) on the Southern Façade with access to the courtyard and totally transparent so as to enhance luminosity. The “service facilities” (kitchen, changing room, and ware house) are located on the Northern Façade and are used as a "thermal mattress" against moisture and wind.
The building has got a green roof top; geothermal energy supply associated with a radiant floor heating; thermical insulation and interior finishings made of cork (proximity material); glass enclosures with thermal break sensors, along with an awning for nature light control, functioning as a large artificial tree.
This is a small project, carried out for a town hall (the smaller instance of the government), with a small budget and also dedicated to “small people”. But it was born with BIG ambitions: it wants children to learn from scratch what is at stake in the world and therefore offers a building that breathes, is energy efficient and is built with proximity materials.
Thanks to the willingness of the client and the authors (the architects team have been granted with quality and eco-design European labels -ISO 9001 and ISO 14006-) and a grant from ICAEN (Catalan Institute of Energy), achieving the highest rating - A - in energy efficiency.
