Economy Turned into Language

Project

Manjón Cervantes School

Status

Competition

Type

School

Year

2010

Location

Alicante, Spain

Credits

Marin Marinović
Susana Iñarra
Alex Ayala

A school for a difficult site: a tight, irregular urban plot squeezed between streets of different geometry, with a very limited budget and a demanding programme.

The answer was economy turned into language. The main volume is wrapped in prefabricated corrugated metal, a light, fast and affordable skin. On the street side it is layered with vertical aluminium louvres that filter the sun and give the long façade a shimmering depth. Toward the playground, the same metal is punctured by windows of varying sizes, scattered freely like a game, bringing light into the classrooms and a lighter mood to the courtyard.

At ground level the building meets the city with glazed ceramic tiles in warm terracotta, a humble material with a long Spanish tradition that catches the light and resists the wear of everyday use. Bright yellow volumes mark the lower wing and the entrance to the playground.

With the simplest means, colour, rhythm and texture give the school a friendly, human presence in a dense neighbourhood, proof that careful choices can matter more than a large budget.