Rafael Arozarena High School, designed by AMP Arquitectos, S.L., located in Lercaro Urbanization, La Orotava, Spain. The building is set on a plot of land that is very close to the historic town centre of La Orotava and this large building blends in perfectly with, and relates to the urban lay-out, the topography of the land around and in its visual relations from the near-by listed buildings.

The school has been resolved as a plinth for the buildings located on the edge of the city centre, on the axes Colegio Street – S. Francisco Street. In the implementation of the project, consideration has been given to maintenance costs by using a very elemental lay-out, primary materials and recordable installations.

The whole blends in with the pre-existing walls of the farming terraces, where it rests on them at some points and passes over them at others, letting the land flow under the building, propitiating enclosed spaces for games or for people to gather.

The main access is from the south-east street, the only horizontal road of the network around the block, in order to provide the best access for students arriving by bus. It is also the road that links to the largest population of potential school children. One arrives by ascending a slight ramp up to the hall floor. The porter’s office, administration offices and the library are all on this floor. The library is placed right next to the entrance so that this space is visible to the inhabitants of La Orotava and the surrounding area, when there are no classes.

The concrete finish is softened with a degraded wash of different tones, on the one hand to blend the building in with the urban strata of La Orotava and, on the other, to blend in with the more rural nature of the south-western zones. These colour washes start from the staircase and the volume of the main access. The chromatic character of the building is important both inside and out, and it relates to the educational function of the centre. via archdaily

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 7th, 2008 at 9:02 am and is filed under Architecture Design. Tags: amp arquitectos, Architecture, Architecture Design, Arozarena High School, buildings, Colegio Street, educational function, High School Building, La Orotava, Offices, Other Design, Rafael Arozarena High School, S. Francisco Street, Spain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.