Primary School Teresa Godes i Domènech
We are located in la Joncosa del Montmell, in the region of Baix Penedès (Catalunya), where ancient vineyards gather on the inner slopes of the massif that gives the town its name.
At the end of a pleasant walk, from the town centre and following Major street in a north-east direction, we find some municipal buildings, among which is the new school. The location, surrounded by trees and extensive vineyard fields, is framed within the existing formidable natural landscape.
The school is oriented parallel to the existing sports track and close to the south-west end of the plot, to facilitate the opening of the access as close as possible to the town.
The building is presented as a sober body, on two floors. It is structured in a linear and compact way in order to minimize the form factor, as well as construction and maintenance costs.
Its position within the plot allows it to take advantage of the southwest orientation for the preschool classrooms on the ground floor and northeast for the primary classrooms on the first floor. Likewise, the outdoor space is divided into two playgrounds (preschool and primary), avoiding residual spaces without visual control. The high level of the site allows the visual dominance over the vineyards and the nearby landscape, offering a magnificent backdrop for the courtyard and classroom areas.
Highlights the porch that practically surrounds the whole building, which offers sun protection and shelter and forms the welcome space at the entrance located in the south corner of the plot. Its formalization, with a clear and marked rhythm, discretely monumental, brings sobriety to the building complex. In the same way, on the main body there are regular openings of vertical proportions that resume the compositional rhythm marked by the porch.
Due to the building program, as well as the origin of the order by the public administration, the execution of the building has been resolved with orthodox construction systems, guaranteeing controlled construction and maintenance prices. A concrete structure (finish seen on the porch) and ceramic exterior enclosures have been chosen. The facade, based on pieces of rustic earthy-toned ceramics, integrates into the landscape around it with vineyards on the calcareous terrain that characterizes this valley.
Inside de school, with more friendly finishes, the warm wooden surfaces ant the large windows, which allow views of the vineyards that surround the school, predominate.
