Gymnasium and public facilities
The new school and community complex includes a gymnasium, a cafeteria and a multifunctional hall close to the existing elementary school.
The design develops two volumes above the ground and an underground area required to guarantee the environmental protection of the site and allow for the use of its outdoor facilities.
A large glass-brick box designed to gather and channel natural light signals the presence of the gymnasium underground. The entrance, cafeteria and multifunctional hall are accommodated in above ground volume.
The building is connected to the existing school by a closed gallery the inner walls of which are painted with a kaleidoscope of colors.
The colorful treatment of the interior areas plays against the pure white used for the simple and essential volumes that grow out of the ground.
The colorful and vibrant palette enlivens the interiors and creates an emotionally stimulating environment. The colors used in the gallery return in other spaces based on a strategy that is designed to divide the rooms by floors or colors: yellow and blue in the gymnasium, orange in the cafeteria, light blue in the multifunctional hall.
The graphic treatment of the long gallery that connects the existing school with the new facilities turns what could be a merely functional path into a place full of character and establishes a mutual exchange between interior and exterior spaces.
