Nuestra Señora del Castellar School
Villarrubia de Santiago, Toledo
On the main street of Villarrubia de Santiago, Toledo, we renovated and expanded an old school with a minimal budget and maximum ambition: to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.
We learned that architecture here is not defined by resources, but by attention to detail and a deep desire to create an environment where children learn while enjoying themselves.
The existing building, heavily deteriorated, functioned as the main classroom block. We had to add a new dining hall, bathrooms, service areas, and functional pathways for contemporary school use.
We designed two volumes that embraced the original structure: one facing the street, designated for the dining hall, and another facing the playground, housing stairs, utilities, and bathrooms.
The goal was clear from the start: design for children, thinking about how they would inhabit the space for years, with joy and naturalness. From reinforcing the floor slabs to laying out access points and pathways, every decision was a conscious response to the context and possibilities.
The Transformation
The original volume was retained as a backdrop, with a gray monocapa facade and white surrounds that provide rhythm and light. In contrast, the new volumes were conceived as lightweight, white, perforated pieces, pierced with openings of various sizes and functions: light, ventilation, and interior-exterior relationship.
The single-story dining hall is raised on a concrete base, regulating its height in relation to the classroom block. It contains an interior courtyard with an olive tree that ventilates, illuminates, and separates the kitchen and service areas from the children's space.
The materials were chosen for their simplicity, durability, and economy: monocapa, terrazzo, tile, and gravel. The design, however, avoids the standard. The dining hall’s suspended ceiling was designed with rhythm to distance it from the office-like image.
The floating staircase connects the courtyard to the dining hall and the distribution space.
Color was reserved only for the doors: red and yellow, as primary accents against a neutral background. The diagonal appears as a playful gesture in the volume facing the playground, giving the facade an unexpected movement.
Credits
Execution Project and Site Management
Blanca Rosa Gutiérrez Rodríguez
Natalia Gutiérrez Rodríguez