Colorful Primary School San Bernardo by ARTE Tectonica in Aveiro, Portugal

Project: Primary School San Bernardo
Architects: ARTE Tectonica
Location: Aveiro, Portugal
Area: 47 092 sq ft
Photography: Ivo Tavares Studio

Primary School San Bernardo by ARTE Tectonica

The goal was to create a new project replacing 8 basic classrooms at San Bernardo school in Aveiro, Portugal.

For about ten years the school was located in a prefabricated pavilion, now used as an indoor play area. Located between the cafeteria and sports hall, the existing site had a rectangular shape oriented east-west.

The concept involved a two-story building with an independent entrance and roof, as Aveiro is one of the rainiest regions in Portugal. In addition to 8 classrooms, the program also included a teachers' room and sports hall.

Comparing 'service spaces' with 'auxiliary spaces' (Op. Cit. Luis Haken), the proposed concept aimed to orient the northern classroom layout and distribute 'auxiliary' spaces along a central corridor wide enough for individual student lockers.

This horizontal passage space repeats on both floors, connected by a wide staircase starting from the two-story entrance.

The plan is approximately rectangular with a central division where classroom facades are strictly oriented to geographic north for optimal lighting without direct solar exposure.

The entirely covered entrance deviates from the east-west orientation and aligns the path along a 45-degree axis.

Four-sloped roofs create a two-volume silhouette that conceals the middle 'valley' housing HVAC equipment and solar panels.

White brick and walls unite the two volumes in color, while external walkways in thermally clean blue frames emphasize the white color, adding lightness to the building's opacity through semi-transparent blue terraces matching the sky.

-Project description and images provided by Ivo Tavares Studio