Concept: THE BASIC AND SECONDARY SCHOOL OF VELAS IS A URBAN CURVILINEAL STRUCTURE THAT WAS DESIGNED TO ADDRESS THE QUOTIDIAN NEEDS OF SCHOOL LIFE AND BLEND WITH THE SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE
Context: In the ambit of the public competitions for the Basic and Secondary School of Velas, we submitted a project that enables the adequate management of the space and functions of the building and one which would lead students to identify with the school.
Programme: Our project proposes the interweaving of different spaces and sectors, bearing in mind school groupings, programmatic specificities and the use of compartments. A system wherein formal and informal spaces are intertwined is thus assured. We highlight the various recreational spaces that the school provides and we emphasise our concern for functional and programmatic needs. It is our intention to open the building to the exterior and the surrounding landscape, where the frontiers of the school become blurred in the natural ambience.
Strategy: This architectonic strategy seeks to develop three themes: Dimension and Background, Topography and Accesses, Materiality and Energy Performance. The spatial organisation of the building fits harmoniously with the geographical context and with the vistas that it offers, particularly towards the south and the sea and to the island of Pico.