The São Bernardo Primary School in Aveiro, Portugal has been the subject of a new project to replace the eight spaces for basic education classes. The project was created by the ARTE TECTóNiCA architecture studio.
For about a decade, the school has been housed in a pre-fabricated pavilion, now repurposed as an indoor play area. The available land, located between the canteen and the gymnasium, had a rectangular shape along the east-west axis.
The concept behind the project involved the construction of a two-volume, two-story building with an independent entrance and roof covering. Aveiro is one of the rainiest regions in Portugal, so the choice of roof covering was of paramount importance. In addition to the eight classrooms, the program also included a teachers' lounge and a gymnasium.
In line with the philosophy of the architect Louis Kahn, who would distinguish "served spaces" from "serving spaces", the proposed concept involved dedicating the northern exposure to the classrooms and distributing the "serving" spaces along the central corridor, quite large to fit individual student lockers.
This horizontal circulation space is reproduced on both the ground and first floors, with a connection via a wide staircase starting in the double-height entrance hall.
The plan is roughly rectangular, with a "centre line" and facade cuts of the classrooms exposed strictly to the geographic north, to receive the "perfect light" without direct exposure to the sun. Only the covered entrance evades the east-west orthogonality, aligning itself with the 45 degree axis.
The four-pitch roof allows for a two-volume silhouette that hides the HVAC systems and solar panels in the middle. The option of white tiles and walls unifies the two volumes in color, the external walkways in thermoclear blue frame the white, adding to the built mass the opacity of the translucent canopies in sky blue.
project info
Project name: São Bernardo Elementary School, Aveiro
Architecture Office: TECHNICAL ART
Main Architect: Architect João Cassiano Santos
Website: www.artetectonica.com
Email: geral@artetectonica.pt
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artetectonica
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artetectonica/
Location: Aveiro
Year of conclusion: 2020
total area: 4375 m2
Architectural photographer: Ivo Tavares Studio
Website: www.ivotavares.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ivotavaresstudio
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ivotavaresstudio
