A Sustainable School Brazil

Through an open call and several visits, the chosen school in Brazil was the Municipal Rural School Nossa Senhora da Conceição, a public elementary school in Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo.

As a result of the systematization of these activities, the project program was established, guided by three pillars: low environmental impact; construction in a theoretical-practical format; and a construction timeline of 45 days.

Thus, by extending the covered area of the school, a classroom with wood frame closure is created for the first grade, along with more covered patio space for use on rainy and very sunny days; the area where the administration office was located (below the water tank) is repurposed for two bathrooms (one accessible and another for staff), with their gray waters (sink and shower) directed to a circle of banana trees, and their black waters (toilets), combined with those from existing bathrooms and the kitchen, directed to an ecological treatment station; and, adjacent to this space, also in wood frame, are created the teachers' and directors' offices, covered by a green roof.

Each radial of this polygon contains a structural wall made of rammed earth - compacted soil - which supports the wooden truss roof, composed of small-section pieces that are easy to handle.

The closure between the rammed earth walls is the furniture of the space itself, optimizing the shape of the construction and acting as a recreational element where windows also serve as doors, and benches are positioned both inside and outside, connecting to the landscape.

We have furniture built from leftover wood from the construction; the wood frame filled with dry straw from the neighboring farm, among other examples that can only emerge during the construction process), which add strength and meaning to the space, creating an architecture that responds to the real needs of the people and the place.