A Second Skin

Project

Lycée Français Barcelona

Status

Competition, 2nd prize

Type

School extension and restructuring

Year

2012

Location

Barcelona, Spain

Credits

Marin Marinović
Susana Iñarra
Alex Ayala

The extension and restructuring of one wing of the Lycée Français in Barcelona, an existing school complex whose buildings and façades had aged beyond repair.

The brief was essentially technical: to bring the building up to current energy standards. The proposal replaces all windows with new high-performance frames and external blinds, and wraps the outer walls in a continuous insulation system, removing thermal bridges and giving the envelope a second life.

That new skin becomes the opportunity to rethink the building's image. The upper levels are clad in vertical timber panels alternating with white rendered volumes, bringing warmth, light and a softer rhythm to the long elevation. The base is kept in a dark mineral tone, anchoring the building to the playground and absorbing the wear of daily school life.

What begins as an upgrade ends as a transformation. Without changing its structure, the school gains a fresh identity, brighter and more in tune with the trees and the children around it.