Baltar School / CNLL

Architects: CNLL
Location: Baltar, Portugal
Architecture Coordinator: Nuno Lacerda Lopes
Architecture Collaborators: CNLL I Márcia Areal, Vanessa Tavares, Natália Rocha, Nuna Castro, Hélder Lopes
Area: 10261.0 sqm
Project Year: 2012
Photographs: Nelson Garrido

Specialties : OHM-E I P2E
Client: Câmara Municipal de Paredes
Lot Area: 19.650 m2

From the architect. Located in the middle of a school and sports complex, this building differs from the other schools as it offers a wider programme, catering for primary and middle school children. This exposed concrete building with scattered windows is characterised by a simultaneously sober and contemporary language. It has clear and objective lines, free from superfluous elements, where the careful relationship between solid and empty spaces creates a pure composition and a symbiotic harmony between the parts and the whole.

On the north side, the main access leads us to the building’s atrium, from which we gain entrance into the central corridor that provides even access to the various spaces. With its generous proportions, this corridor is both a place for meeting and permanence, as well as fulfilling its key role as the main circulation area.

The bodies connected to the south side of the corridor house the classrooms; the bodies on the north side are the laboratories. At the extremities of this axis are the exceptions: at one end is the indoor play area, at the other are the sports complex and the social areas.

These spaces are designed to be autonomous, so they can be used for different purposes. This means the needs of the school will be met over time, as it will have some flexibility, and the building can be used by the community for a number of activities.