CLARA CAMPOAMOR PUBLIC SCHOOL. ALAQUÀS, VALENCIA

The new school is arranged into two bodies lining both streets which support strong residential building fronts, opening the triangular lot towards the southeast, towards views over the open spaces adjacent to the Albareda de Les Autonomies and a watercourse. The new building acts as limit to the constructed urban continuum, while offering a third façade to the blurred Llibertat plaza.

The building is structured linearly over the ground floor and the two upper floors. The future planned expansion will extend and totally occupy the front of the site. Thanks to the north/south façade layout, the classrooms most used face at noon, and the workshops, laboratories and other facilities occasionally used face north.

The classroom windows are equipped with double low-emissivity glass with a chamber in which adjustable metal venetian blinds are housed. A system of large-format outdoor shutters makes up an exterior lattice which controls the sunlight and, in the space for the library, is adjustable.

The elimination of some classrooms generates porches and roofs at various points on different floors in the building, through which the halls receive lights and are ventilated.

A practicable shutter system incorporated into the interior classroom walls facilitates cross ventilation.

A large porch houses the main entrance to the centre and to the indoor sports programme. Only the areas corresponding to the sports centre and cafeteria can be found under this cover. The rest is a big empty space arranged with walls so that different local sports (frontón, galotxeta and trinquete) can be played, around a covered square that is a social space for games when protection from the sun or rain is required.

The main access to the site is located at the meeting-point of the two buildings, which forms the façade to Libertad plaza, where independent access to additional classrooms and school facilities are concentrated. The building that houses the administrative and management offices contributes to formalising this multiple access while symbolically and effectively controlling it.