Pies Descalzos School

Prue Chiles

Description

The Piez Descalzos School is located in the neighborhood of Lomas del Peye, just 8 km from the centre of the idyllic city of Cartagena, Colombia. The school was set up by the Fundacion Pies Descalzos (literally the “Barefoot Foundation”), a Colombian NGO that has the aim of promoting ‘public quality education for children in vulnerable situations in Colombia.’ Lomas del Peye is a poor and disconnected part of the city; children here are often unable to access the city’s resources, including schools. In order to address their needs, catering for instance is provided for the pupils throughout pre-school, elementary school and secondary school, and the school’s facilities are made available to the local community as well. Library and multi-purpose hall were given separate entrances to facilitate after-hour use. Thus, the Piez Descalzos school becomes a resource for the whole of the Lomas del Peye area.

The building is positioned atop a hill above the neighborhood, its geometric form and distinctive materiality make it easily recognizable and a landmark for both Lomas del Peye and neighborhoods beyond. “We wanted to bring visibility to this side of the city,” says architect Mazzanti. Although its topographical location physically separates it from the neighborhood it serves, it also appears as a statement of belief in the importance of education here.

Its geometrically striking timber pergola forms a dynamic, conical roof to the plan form that consist of three interlocking hexagons. The two-story perimeter of each hexagon holds dedicated classrooms and circulation spaces, with central voids within these that form flexible courtyard spaces. These courtyards feature generous concrete ramps, which provide access to classroms, and provide further spatial variation, allowing for a variety of activity and socializing. Durable materials such as concrete, granite, metalwork and wood-plastic composite strips were also chosen for the reason that public buildings often have insufficient funds for maintenance.

There are many visual connections with the urban context through slatted wood walls, large windows and three individual concrete spaces (a music room, an auditorium, and an art studio) that cantilever over the hillside and take on the character of viewing boxes, affording views of the city and surrounding landscape. This softens the geometric forms of the scheme, increases permeability between the school and its surroundings and strengthens the ties between school and its urban context; the school might appear as an extension of the hilltop it sits upon. The three hexagonal patios are planted with tropical and native trees and shrubs. Their shady microclimate mitigates the heat and will hopefully attract local wildlife, allowing real-time education about local ecology and displaying environmental changes as they occur daily, seasonally, yearly.

As well as being a local landmark, this project also represents a willingness to invest in the area that goes beyond solely the construction of the school – before construction could begin, it was necessary to address fundamental issues such as a lack of utilities (gas, electricity), and paved roads allowing access to the site. Between 350 and 400 people worked on the project, some 60 % of which were from the local community. This building furthers its reach into Lomas del Peye as an active new center for the surrounding community of 34,000 people, through the Fundacion Pies Descalzos’ “Open Door School Strategy.” This allows public access to the large athletic field, library and certain classrooms for studying nutrition, health and professional development, with a specific entrance separate to the primary student entrance, generating opportunities for personal and community development. The institution therefore takes a place not only as a children’s school, but as an invaluable resource within the area.