Schools

The project is designed to accommodate 750 students and a Unité Localisée pour l’Insertion Scolaire (ULIS).

The project is based on a reflection on how educational spaces should be nowadays. From this starting point, we begin by creating shade – a roof supported by a flexible, light and open structure that allows for a dialogue between people, nature and architecture. The building adapts to the pre-existing conditions of the site and links the exterior and interior spaces by dissolving their boundaries.

The Santa Marta Center was created in 1962 by the initiative of mothers of students from the Santa Maria School together with the Institute of the Sisters of the Holy Cross. The institution promotes the reception, coexistence and learning of families in vulnerable situations, contributing to their training, access and permanence in the job market. The activities are carried out by volunteers and Sisters, with the support of staff.

The intensity of megacity urbanity, where air pollution and environmental degradation are pre-conditions for design, presents a particular challenge for the creation of secure environments for education. Conceptualized as a ‘cocoon’, this project for a pre-school and kindergarten aspires to be a luminous safe haven for young children as they engage with early years learning.  Organized as a set of organic ‘cells’ of curved brick walls punctuated by circular porthole windows, the learning spaces weave a tactile ring around a courtyard.

The city in general, and a South Asian megacity in particular, is a challenging place for a child. To learn and grow, she needs an environment that fosters freedom and exploration – these are hard to come by in today’s city. The Garden School in Mumbai is conceived as this protective space, holding off the oppressive conventions and constraints of the city, for a child to be free.

The project raises the question of the construction of almost 1000m2 in a locality. How to build such a surface, and make it a continuation of fragmented mountain urbanization.

Architectural Project for a School and Afterschool Center – Five years have passed since we submitted our architectural proposal for the Honcourt School Group, located in Alsace and in the Vosges mountain range in Eastern France. Following 12 months of collaborative design (from September 2019 to February 2021) and meticulous planning, the construction preparations began in July 2021, and work commenced in September of the same year. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages, and weather conditions, the school group was successfully delivered in early 2024. When we first visited the stunning site five years ago, snow blanketed the landscape, providing an impressive view of the natural surroundings at the village’s entrance. As we surveyed the land, several key questions shaped our design approach:

Berkeley Chess School was founded in 1981 as an after-school program. It has grown today to teach 7,000 children a year in the Bay Area and has produced an unmatched three grandmasters. The founder’s primary goal, however, has always been to empower children by teaching them chess, a predictor of future success in STEM subjects.