This small cultural center is just the first piece of a whole plan that this modest school has developed to improve the overall performance of both students and teachers. The basis of the solutions proposed in this plan include the campus management’s choice of focusing on the architecture this time, because the school has grown under different concepts and many sorts of architectural designs across the thirty past years, this leading into an eclectic display of designs and materials, and therefore generating chaos of uses and mixed ambiences not suitable for an educational environment.

The project has been developed in the old library, recycling two metal containers, the foundations, floors, and perimeter walls. The roof, which was found in an advanced state of deterioration has been fully dismantled and the engineering rebuilt from scratch.

Analyzing the buildings already in site and the materials they are made of, it was decided to use the mud brick, a material of high local use, as the only enveloping material.

While having the surroundings limited by all the structures and walkways already built, natural light became a priority for this project, taking advantage of resources like lattices as solar filters, open spaces, and blind walls as protections, plus the integration of interior and exterior spaces, like the central courtyard in the main entrance hall and the reading deck.

The interior of the building includes a reading zone and library, a multi-purpose room for Yoga and Dalcroze practice, and two plastic arts rooms, where luminosity was extended using white as the only shade to enhance the colorful palette of the books.

The simplicity of its volume and the scarce use of materials makes it possible for this building to fit humbly within its surroundings and also makes it the foundation stone of the future educational complex, which will take architecture as a fundamental element for its educational purposes.

Credits: Iván Marín IM Arquitectura, Eduardo Armenta IM Arquitectura, José Carlos Macouzet , Wendy Villarreal IM Arquitectura