The School as a Center for the Community
The construction of schools in the suburban districts in Colombian cities must be the opportunity to generate social cohesion. This kind of buildings should be the possibility to offer facilities and services to the community surrounding them, turning so into a referent and contributing to the development of the district.
Based on this conception, the project establishes a public area, which we call “the civic block” that includes facilities and areas for the use of the community, such as an auditorium, a library, and fields for practicing different kinds of sports. This civic block is meant to be controlled during the week so that it is private for the school, and opened to the public on weekends and holidays.
The sidewalk on 63 street is to be continued into the interior of the project for the private and eventual public use to the “staircase to knowledge” with a double access by it’s extremes. This “ladder” becomes the filter to control the access to the academic block to be used exclusively by the school. The academic block is formed by the classrooms, and it is on “the staircase to knowledge” where the concept of what is civic and what is academic meet. This situation develops civil awareness in the students.
The access to the academic block is smooth, with platforms under the rich vegetation from which the city can be observed. The alley becomes the spine of the school that offers a nice entrance from the districts centers and provides a urban continuity.
The classrooms are oriented north to south and due to the unevenness of the path, the far view of the city is to be enjoyed in every block. They are arranged at regular intervals according to the grades, and the preschool area is set in a protected place with the direct access from the lower ground. The classrooms relate to a patio, where learning also takes place. They may be grouped in twos, as the educational system proposes.
