PUBLIC BUILDINGS

RAFAEL BORDALO PINHEIRO SECONDARY SCHOOL ESRBP

Caldas da Rainha . 2009

Design year
2009
Construction year
2010 - 2013
Location
Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
Team
Jorge Sousa Santos, Paulo Marques, Nuno Gomes, Vyernu Patel, Bruno Ferraz, Patricia Costa, Ismael Prata, Sofia Oliveira, Vítor Ribeiro, Mariana Sá
Client
Parque Escolar

Gallery

About the project

The new building is inserted into the existing level difference between the school’s two sports fields, establishing a new entrance to the campus. At its southern end, the building is defined by a volume that concentrates the programmes with the strongest relationship to the exterior, namely the library and the multipurpose room. These spaces operate as an anchoring point for the new volume, establishing an active interface with the school’s exterior space.

The first floor is entirely constructed in steel structure, allowing for the definition of a system of slender circular-section metal columns within the library space. These columns are capped at roof level by a continuous skylight, defining a matrix of zenithal lighting.

The intervention enhances the fluidity of movement, linking the pre-existing volumes and creating intermediate spaces for informal and sheltered use.

All new buildings are designed to ensure a continuous reading of the campus, guaranteeing a unitary expression across the overall intervention.