The client brief of providing paved playing and sitting areas for K-12 to Degree College in their existing open areas was interpreted as spaces for “learning, exploring & interacting”.
In no Man’s Land, in an aggressive environment surrounded by heavy traffic, heavy industry, along a poor neighborhood on an old slag lies the plot of the school. There is a gap of almost four meters that will be used to protect the building from the noise of the highway A-92, providing adequate protection in addition to parents and students during the hours of entry and exit to the centre, keeping a safe distance from the busy roads surrounding the site.
This new building is a remarkable amenity in the city centre, visible by its façades and its roof, a founding element of the project. We designed it to be both welcoming and protective, turned inwards towards inner courtyards to ensure privacy.
The building is located on a main road traffic flow and in a corner with a secondary road. The project was always looking to give space to the city in front of the land, which would create a garden of vehicular access to allow also leaving the children to the door of the building that would function like a platform. Also taking advantage of the corner of the land provided the first impression of the building is generated through the front garden, which hides the built volume that is only seen in parts giving priority and hierarchy to the existing trees.