LA CANALETA SCHOOL IN VILA-SECA, TARRAGONA
The site: The school is located on square land in the perimeter of the town in an area of potential development. The building stands alone in a isolated area, limited by an avenue, that is buried beneath the school and fields.
The building: The building design is a comb framework facing onto the future plaza, (for school weekly access and weekend public use) and inside you will find the administration office, kitchen, dining room and gym. The two perpendicular wings are on one and two floors respectively, where the classrooms are located for kindergarten and primary.
The central patio: is located between the kindergarten and primary wings and aligned with the entrance hall to the school. The patio illuminates the lobby which enables a transversal view, helping one to orient upon entering the building. The primary complementary classrooms and kindergarten hallways are illuminated and ventilated by the existing patio.
The primary street level wing: The primary wing consists of a central hallway which is double in height with classrooms orientated north, located on the ground floor and first floor. There are additional classrooms orientated to the south facade, which only occupy one strip on the ground floor. This arrangement results in a well-lit and ventilated area throughout the south facade on level 1, (4,5 meters wide) forming a space that consists much more than a hallway. It is a covered street area integrated within the “small town”, which is a potential meeting place for students to develop as a multipurpose hall where different activities will take place. A balcony area in this space allows access to classrooms located on the first floor.
Construction: The school has been completely built with a structure of cross laminated timber panels. This lightweight construction system was built within a very low execution time of 30 days. The panels were made in the workshop, to reduce the generation of waste and dust. Additionally, It also includes a significant reduction in CO2 emissions from the building because of the cross laminated timber panels and it creates a light construction, which causes a very simple foundation and a very low carbon footprint.
The environment: The wood is covered externally by a layer of thermal insulation, creating comfortable spaces and avoiding thermal bridging. The comb shaped layout encourages cross ventilation between the classrooms and hallway. The system has been strengthened with a heating system that stays in the classrooms and resident spaces and in contrast prevents heating the intermediate spaces such as the hallways. There are radiators inside the long – residence spaces, renewing the air which is controlled with a CO2 sensor, filtered and heated. The intermediate spaces benefits from the heating of the classrooms, aided by natural cross ventilation and an air exchange system.
