Cascais School
The Cascais School is in the heart of Bairro do Rosário, a distinguished residential neighbourhood built in the late 1950s. The design was for the construction of an open, modern and flexible school that includes some elementary grade students and the whole high school level and was to reflect a vast functional programme with various spaces duly characterised for the many functions and capacities, spaces for formal education of diverse nature, including spaces for teaching arts, sports and science, but not forgetting management and administration, nor the school support functions and all the natural functions and needs for complete experience of facility of this nature, such as the canteen, cafeteria, student support, technical facilities.
We also endeavoured to create a school open to the community, not only in symbolical terms but also in practical aspects, namely with regard to the spaces of a cultural and performative nature, such as the Library and even some outside playground areas. Another central idea associated with this design was with respect to sustainability matters, thus building an architectural element in line with the major environment concerns of today, through the use of passive action strategies, such as shade provision, transversal ventilation and the appropriate design of the various façades in line with orientation of the school building, as well as the choice of materials and technologies of high thermal efficiency while being low in maintenance costs.
The choices for the outside materials and construction image was the result of an attempt to integrate by means of contrast and assume a character of a public and stand-out facility in this urban context. This lead to the choice of exposed solid brick as the main material, in combination with exposed concrete to be painted, where appropriate, in white, giving the new Cascais School a unique character that is at the same time timeless and contemporary.
The design for the school aimed to create a single building with three storeys, except for the interior and exterior areas for sports activities. This building assumes the condition of being a major public facility.
