Description

The school is located in the north-western suburbs of Guadalajara, in an area formerly used for agriculture and farming, but undergoing transformation. Since around 2000, buildings of various uses have appeared in the area, including light industry sheds, educational facilities and residential developments. Some agriculture still persists. As a result the mixed area lacks in character. The programme was rather demanding for the relatively small site and it was necessary to devise a strategy in order to minimise land occupation – to leave sufficient space for children to play.

To that end, Kalach and his team located the administrative offices and larger educational units in two blocks along the northern edge of the site. They separate the school from existing buildings and create a grand entrance. In turn, three blocks of classrooms are arranged diagonally in relation to the administration. The rows of classrooms demarcate four distinct sectors. On the west, there is a communal recreational area for all students. Three other areas result between the rows of classrooms; these are used for the recreation of students. The form and disposition of the classrooms is such that they focus on distant views of the mountains. The classrooms are orientated towards the south -east in order to receive the morning light, at an angle which facilitates its control by means of vertical elements in the facade, The main feature, however, is the fact that the classrooms are tucked underneath the playground. In other words, the site is treated as a terrain made out of three successive valleys with classrooms underneath. Since the school is located in a bland urban periphery not yet consolidated, the architect opted for creating a landscape.

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Originally published in: Felipe Hernández, Beyond Modernist Masters. Contemporary Architecture in Latin America, Birkhäuser, 2009.