Arreletes Day Care Centre in Els Alamús, Spain by Xavier Vilalta Studio

The nursery in Els Alamús is settled on the boundary line between the town and rural area, beside the only road access and exit of the village, surrounded by a sports area.

From its inception, Arreletes Day Care Centre makes two volumes: one on the bottom, the classrooms of children and the courtyard, supported by the existing agricultural wall and following the direction of agricultural fields, and the other one above, the offices of teachers in the direction of the houses of the village, watching the children courtyard. The two volumes offer a dual access to the school and are connected by a staircase that is inserted into the natural slope.

The spaces are various, uninterrupted and have a controlled illumination. The first classroom and the lobby can be metamorphosed into a dining hall, the classrooms, linked through the exchanging room to the courtyard.

Industrial materials have been used in this construction process are steel, concrete, glass and wood with two exceptions: a roof garden that wants the village inhabitants to keep looking at the countryside and some color glass that make the corridor access an area for fun of children and that the building has the representative character to welcome the population and the visitors of Els Alamús

Architects: Xavier Vilalta Studio
Budget: US $304,088
Constructed Area: 254 sqm
Photographs: Jordi Anguera