ArchShowcase 
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Infant Educational Centre “La Viña” in CÚLLAR VEGA, SPAIN by gabriel verd arquitectosJanuary 14th, 2014 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: gabriel verd arquitectos Placed in the northern part of Cullar Vega’s city centre, the project articulates itself around the idea of creating a permeable building, in which the relationship between exterior and interior spaces is always protagonist. The general disposition is based on two differentiated and complementary axes. The transversal axis concentrates most of the public services and administrative areas. The longitudinal axis corresponds to the teaching activity, where classrooms are located.  Image Courtesy © Cosmin Dragomir
Chronology
collaborators
AREA and COST
 Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe Access to the building is totally differentiated for persons and vehicles. The school looks in its perimeter for an alignment with the existing urban structure, through a wall dense enough to fulfil this task, but at the same time permeable to allow a view of the interior of the enclosure, thus we come to such a usual image in the popular architecture of wall that conceals a garden. The rows of poplars also help to qualify this picture of the interior and integrate with the surroundings.  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe The main entrance to the building is through a gardened atrium that groups around it the way of access, the administrative area and the dining room of the centre. The way of entry is covered by a projection of concrete that marks us the way and gives the scale of singularity that the building claims.  Image Courtesy © Cosmin Dragomir The architectural solution of this centre avoids being pretentious and complicated, but it tries to give an individualized picture of architecture, reflecting its institutional character. It provides a comfortable, cheerful and clean setting, which contributes not only to facilitate the teaching, but also to develop in students habits of conviviality and good relationship with the school environment.  Image Courtesy © Cosmin Dragomir Immediately at the entrance, the reception and the secretary are placed together with the administrative zone and area reserved for teachers. From this point we can also directly and clearly access to the dining room of the centre. The entrance atrium is projected as leisure after lunch.  Image Courtesy © Cosmin Dragomir The multipurpose room has a central role in the configuration of the building being on both public and teaching space. Its position in the middle of the building is very appropriate to access from any classroom in a comfortable and efficient way. Next to the multipurpose room is linked the covered porch necessary for the children’s recreation when the climatic conditions are adverse. This space placed in the middle of the common play area carries out its function protecting by the rains during the winter days and providing shadows in the hot spring days. It has been orientated towards the south to give to this area the best comfort possible.  Image Courtesy © Cosmin Dragomir In fact the principal play-court has been placed in the south side of the plot to guarantee the maximum sunlight for this space during the winter. The shade of the black poplars will conditionate the court from spring times. The exterior spaces treat each other in its entirety with materials adapted according to the uses, offering a special attention to the representative zone. The exterior areas of games and outdoors classrooms are placed next to the classrooms and incorporate sand’s pits, paved areas, etc. These outdoors classrooms have been projected, as complementary spaces, spaces tied to the classroom, where it is possible to realize the school activity outside.  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe They all have direct connection with the classroom. It’s paved and enclosed by dividing-walls of low height that individualize the enclosure. The ones located close to the exterior limit of the plot, have a sure closing. The good orientation has been kept in mind to obtain a suitable sunlight avoiding at all time the north exhibition.  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe We seek a simple plant articulated around axes of minimal surface movement and allowing flexibility in the arrangement of spaces. Rectangular shapes were used. Likewise we considered the possible expansion of the centre with minimal difficulty and constructive distribution to the southern end of the plot. In the same way the concentration of the building promotes security, cleaning and maintenance of the building and at the same time reduces the cost of maintenance.  Image Courtesy © Cosmin Dragomir The teaching activity is focused on the transversal axis, and distributes the students according to the cycles, grouping the three and four years-old ones in the northern zone and those of five years in the south of the building closed to the principal court. Due to the constraints of the plot (narrow and long north-south axis) we distributed the classrooms in order to let them receive the morning and the evening light. We fled from the north orientation don’t considering it adapt to the climate of the area.  Image Courtesy © Cosmin Dragomir With the intention to carry out a quality project, proper to the needs of an educational program, we intended to realize a building both valuable and simple and also austere, with resistant constructive solutions proof against a hard use and a marked debilitation, able to withstand a long life in perfect condition and with low maintenance to an absolute minimum.  Image Courtesy © Cosmin Dragomir The configuration of the present proposal allows the extension of the building towards the south. Having been located on the lot together with the whole educational equipment of the population (school Group Francisco Ayala) we thought to raise the possibility of connection of this Center with the already existing ones and with the sports zone foreseen in the urban development in the northern boundary.  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe In the project the good integration has been kept in mind in its urban environment and its fitness to the bioclimatic conditions of the site taking the maximum advantage by the available orientations, the materials of the region, the aesthetic composition of the architecture, as well as the in force regulation for building and installations.  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe The choice of the sloping roof for classrooms’ zone is connected with the dominant typology of the zone. The chapter of gardening has been kept in mind very much as integration element between the built space and the free space. We have chosen as the main tree the Poplar (Populus Nigra) as being a native of the region and having an easy maintenance and a rapid growth.  Image Courtesy © gabriel verd arquitectos All the classrooms have direct natural light and ventilation. All the spaces are related between them avoiding long walks and getting the whole view of all the interior spaces of the building. Thus has been realized on the basis of the school functionality and the disposition by cycles of age. The pupils of the first and second course are protected from the general play-court, and near the dependences of the professors and the classrooms of the last course with more independence and with an access more direct than the first ones.  Image Courtesy © gabriel verd arquitectos The administrative and the services areas have been grouped in specific and different zones, in order not to interfere with the educational activities of the centre. Areas destined to machineries have been centred in areas that do not require a high level of acoustic demand. For example, the boiler is not located near classrooms, but close to a separating wall and vented directly outside. The secretary is placed immediately in the lobby and has a documentation archive. The reception has been located in a central point, from where the total control of the interior spaces of the centre is possible.  Image Courtesy © gabriel verd arquitectos  Image Courtesy © gabriel verd arquitectos  Image Courtesy © gabriel verd arquitectos
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Tags: CÚLLAR VEGA, Spain Category: Educational Center |
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