Elisabeth School, Salou

Details

Site: Salou, Tarragona
Use: Educational

Description

The school program includes the whole educational cycle, from infant school, through to primary and secondary school. The general approach of the project is based on a desire to establish a close relationship between all the pedagogic groups of the school, adapting personalized spaces for each one of them, yet facilitating exchanges.

Project

The idea of organizing the whole complex comes from the desire to structure the school as a “small city”, with its center, streets, facilities, and green zones. In the “agora”, the center of the school, we find the main entrance, the library, the gymnasium, the main hall, the dining rooms, the offices, and the head teacher’s office. From this square with porches, towards the left, we enter the primary and infant area, and to the right, we come to the secondary area.
There is a clear desire for the school to touch the ground and for all the conventional classrooms to have their natural extension in the garden classes. Through different pavilions and exterior spaces, which are closely related, the whole school is gradually structured. Nearly all the program of the school is undertaken on the ground floor, except for the secondary zone which has a pavilion with three levels.
With the work in an advanced stage, the constructive program has been extended with the need to cover an outdoor sports center measuring 40 x 20 meters. From the point of view of the general consolidation plan, the project makes a commitment to generosity, extending the ground floor a great deal and, in contrast, has opted for simple and economical construction materials and techniques in order to reduce costs.

View of the main courtyard of the school, in front of the library and its skylight

Images

Plans

Exterior sketch of Elisabeth school by manuel brullet tenas
Sketch from the sheltered part of the central courtyard of Elisabeth school by manuel brullet tenas
Exterior sketch of Elisabeth school by manuel brullet tenas
Exterior corridor sketch of Elisabeth school by manuel brullet tenas
Site plan of Elisabeth school located in Salt, tarragona
Ground floor floor plan of Elisabeth school
Basement floor floor plan of Elisabeth school designed by Brulletdeluna Architects in Barcelona
first floor floor plan of Elisabeth school
full longitudinal section of Elisabeth school through main courtyard
longitudinal section of Elisabeth school focusing on the main courtyard
transversal section of Elisabeth school through sports court
transversal section of Elisabeth school through courtyard and sports court elevation
detailed section of Elisabeth school

“THE IDEA OF ORGANIZING THE WHOLE COMPLEX COMES FROM THE DESIRE TO STRUCTURE THE SCHOOL AS A SMALL CITY”

Project Name: Elisabeth School
Site: Carrer de Miquel Martí i Pol 1, Salou, Tarragona
Use: Educational
Project date: 06.2004
Construction start date: 07.2006
Construction end date: 02.2009 – 06.2012
Property: Societat cooperativa d’Ensenyança Elisabeth
Land area: 24.371 m²
Floor area: 11.450 m²

Awards:
Winner, VI Architecture Biennal Alejandro de la Sota 2009
Finalist, FAD Architecture Awards 2010

Authors: Manel Brullet i Tenas, Alfonso de Luna i Colldefors
Contributors: Jaume Piñol
Surveyors: Alberto Bujalance, Jaume Martí
Facilities: Portell-Brunés Enginyers, S.L.P.
Structure: Manuel Arguijo y Asociados, S.L.
Builder: ROVESA 2000, S.L.
Publications:
01- “ON Diseño” nº314, 2010
02- HIC Arquitectura (link)
03- Archkids (link)
04- Architizer (link)
05- Architonic (link)
06- World-architects.com (link)
07- think.tv (link)
08- arquitecturacatalana.cat (link)