Aguas Nuevas Nursery School

Aguas Nuevas Nursery School seen from the street, among trees and low domestic buildings

A hall between two courtyards extends the old nursery school of Aguas Nuevas, adding a new entrance and facilities for children and teachers. Against the low, domestic architecture of the place, the intervention is resolved with elementary volumes that respond to the uses they house, all finished in the same pale mortar. A bench on the street line, a freestanding wall and a shaded threshold organise the arrival and give space back to the pavement, turning it into a meeting place.

Bench on the street line and white entrance volume of Aguas Nuevas Nursery School
Shaded threshold at the entrance to Aguas Nuevas Nursery School
  • Gravel courtyard with aromatic plants between the walls of Aguas Nuevas Nursery School
  • Animation of a child in the hall of Aguas Nuevas Nursery School beside the large window
Main elevation of Aguas Nuevas Nursery School
Exterior of Aguas Nuevas Nursery School with the entrance and a person walking
Tall hall between two courtyards in Aguas Nuevas Nursery School, with children at the far end

Inside, a single tall space stretches between two courtyards, one of gravel and aromatic plants and the other for play. The courtyards filter the light and allow cross ventilation. A lateral band of thick wall houses toilets, niches and the entrance, and resolves the connection with the existing building, which the new hall extends.

Hall of Aguas Nuevas Nursery School opening onto the courtyard through a large window
Animation of the plan of Aguas Nuevas Nursery School
Door and niche in the thick wall of Aguas Nuevas Nursery School
Hall of Aguas Nuevas Nursery School with a chair facing the courtyard window
Children seated on the bench of Aguas Nuevas Nursery School

The continuous rendering wraps the building inside and out, and its grainy texture catches the raking light and records the passing of the hours on every plane. On the rear elevation, a large projecting frame shields the window from the sun and gives the play courtyard the scale of a porch. The result is a serene, unadorned facility, conceived so that children may inhabit with ease a generous, bright space in contact with the sky.

  • Strip of thick wall with niches inside Aguas Nuevas Nursery School
  • Corner of a volume with a deep frame at Aguas Nuevas Nursery School
Large projecting frame over the window facing the play courtyard of Aguas Nuevas Nursery School

(Photo)

David Zarzoso

(Press)

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