The Task

School +...

"We will design a space for learning...And something else"

 The role of schools in "disadvantaged' populations in Argentina extends well beyond the specific educational one. Access to better nutrition and basic health control and services is usually gained by attending school.

At the same time as the permanence of children in schools and the completion of a curricula is always under many social "threats" (i.e. children being subjected to work or home responsibilities that would reasonably be assumed by adults), enriching what is offered in schools and a clearly recognizable  advantage in attending, becomes critical requirement for success in its role.

School has become the first stepping stone in the life of a child, wherein he/she learns a lot more than just rote learning, much more so where other learning environments such as family are "weaker" in their capacity to educate and help break the poverty cycle.

The program of the studio will be a school for the villa that accommodates kindergarten, elementary, and high school students.  Ultimately, however, the goal will be to "create a place that transcends the idea of the school" (ex. school + bridge, school + recycling factory, school + sport facility, school+ craft training facility, school + theater, school + park). Key to the project will be considering the potential for multiple uses of one space.

"The whole idea of the exercise is to introduce the students it the complexity of Buenos Aires urban fabric, the reality of the program needed in our site and to add a program hybridization that recognizes the many dimensions of schooling in these kinds of environment and acts as a focal point for the neighborhood"