CHILDREN VILLAGE

The Brazilian studios Rosenbaum and Aleph Zero recently collaborated to house 540 children who study at Canuanã boarding-school. The project proposes a new understanding of the learning space also as a place of residence. It involved an open and intense collaboration with the local community, teachers, administration, and especially, the children. Through workshops the community developed a common understanding of the problem and its possible solutions.

Residencies are set together in groups of five, organized around three large patios filled with local savannah and tropical species. These courtyards serve as gathering spaces and also as means of reducing heat and controlling air humidity.A thin, white metallic roof supported by a lightweight wood structure following a regular grid of 5,90m by 5,90m embraces the villages and common spaces. Beyond protection from sun and rain, the roof and grid set composes an intermediary space between the outside and inside, behaving as a great veranda that marks the vast horizon and frames views of the exterior and interior vegetation. The studio decided for glued laminated eucalyptus wood as the structural elements for its versatility, pre-fabrication and sustainable characteristics.

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