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Architects: aflalo/gasperini arquitetos
- Area: 450625 ft²
- Year: 2018
- Photographs: Ana Mello, Pedro Mascaro
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Manufacturers: thyssenkrupp, Ace Revestiemento, Alianças Fundações, Artnobel Pinturas, Boreal Pinturas, Caciel Industria e Comércio, Creative Wall Comércio, Deca, Estúdio Bela Imobiliário Urbano Eirell, Glasses Vidros de Segurança, Grupo Perficon, Integral Impermeabilização e Construção Civil, Isar Revestimentos Acústicos, L.Sant’Angelo Pinturas, Lisonda Engenharias e Construções, Luxalum Esquadrias Especiais de Alumínio, PHMEC Manutenção de Máquinas Industriais, Pinturas Triângulo, Pisoleve, Python Construções metálicas +4
Text description provided by the architects. Architecture firm aflalo/gasperini signs the new design of international school Avenues: The World School, at a quiet and tree-lined area in the Cidade Jardim neighborhood, in São Paulo. The São Paulo unit, opened in August, is the second in the world, made of sustainable, pleasant environments that boost students’ creativity.
The challenge of this design was to turn the existing structure of an office building into a school with a diverse, dynamic and interconnected program. The architectural solution was retrofitting the building, distributing the different grades of primary and secondary schools along the floors. Internal spaces were created to provide visualization and access to the different floors, driving communication and exchange between students of different ages.
A new adjacent building was created for complementary activities, with a theater, gymnasium, an indoors patio, outdoors sports courts and patios. This dialogue between the new and the existing provides greater proximity and integration between classroom floors and common areas.
The sequence of volumes at different heights creates easy access to open areas on multiple levels, strengthening the school’s indoors/outdoors relationships. The top floors of the buildings – with sports courts and terraces – provide a magnificent view of the São Paulo skyline. “The idea of leisure areas on the top floors was to create a connection between the children and the city, so that contact with external areas is, at once, for leisure and learning,” explained José Luiz Lemos, managing partner at aflalo/gasperini.
On internal areas, the environments designed include an environmental quality, with indoor gardens, double-height ceilings, colors, and a playful interaction with architecture, giving the project a unique dynamic. Common and circulation areas are also used as learning spaces and for interdisciplinary projects, like the wooden stairs that are also used as bleachers.
At the cafeterias, we can see the building’s structure, designed to instigate and trigger children’s curiosity, just like every detail of the school, with its interior design by architecture firm DM/AM. “The landscaping, architecture and interior design works form an essential tripod for the school. They complement and frame each other, adding quality to the spaces,” added José Luiz.
The façade highlights the contrast between the existing and the new constructions. In the classrooms, horizontal sun shades protect the building from direct sunlight, and internal light shelves potentiate natural light. In the common areas, perforated metal panels guarantee sun-shielding and the necessary natural ventilation, as well as uniform massing, adding a contemporary feel to the architecture.
