In 2008 Loja Town Council launched an architectural competition to design a community centre and community college for the town. The brief was to develop workshops and classrooms for the community college and an auditorium for theatre performances.

Both the streets and the plazas enable citizenship in Loja. This was the premise on which we based our entry at MEDIOMUNDO arquitectos. In our proposal the new community centre, auditorium and community college in Loja are conceived of as a space for coming together. The project highlights the importance of spaces for gathering people together and hosting events inspired by the street and the plaza.

Within our proposal, a large courtyard act as the plaza, a place where participating citizens can come together and mingle. Rehearsal rooms and music rooms open up onto the courtyard, as does a stage, making possible to host open-air performances and cinema screenings.

The roof undulates. The higher concentration of users at the community centre is represented by a greater number of small skylights while the roof has been designed waves of shorter wavelength. Meanwhile the less frequented space occupied by the auditorium is represented by a roof with undulations of higher wavelength that incorporate the air-conditioning in addition to the theatre installations.

The new community centre, auditorium and community college will be made up of a sequence of several areas or stages: the courtyard (plaza), lobby (street), cafeterias, galleries and classrooms with skylights letting in natural light.

Ensemble: “structured musical training, which attends to the basic qualities of sound (height, intensity, timbre and duration) and promotes free creation based on the participation of all instruments“.

 To Assemble: “to joint and link pieces”

The new cultural center is a hub of culture and culture producing building. Coordination of training, information and production through telecommunications networks

The proposed life cycle tries to put the building into charge rather than a conventional management process and thus generate social capital gains, and Build not ‘for’ but ‘with’ the agents: we propose a building with a basic functional program, which is easily re-programmable by the users. It is proposed to involve in the construction of related agents: associations, fp students, retirees, housewives, graffiti artists, …

It is proposed to build together the language and imaginary referent: to the technical code are added the “everyday codes” the affective, the festive, the common, of all ….

In 2008 Herrera Town Council launched an architectural competition to design a public swimming pool in Herrera.

The MEDIOMUNDO arquitectos proposal is a low intensity project that is at once able to create several different interrelated spaces that function within the surrounding landscape. Our aim was to economize effort, resources and materials while making the most of various scales and time scales.

We proposed a compact construction with clearly differentiated accesses that occupies a minimal part of the plot thus reducing the costs of intervention. The building itself lies parallel to the street and functions as a permeable shadow that funnels visitors into the various facilities on offer.

“Among School Children” is a Poem by William Butler Yeats (1989) that portrays a beautiful school past, thought as reference during the design process, to be updated.

From the analysis of the topographic, urbanistic and orientation conditions of the plot, the proposed solution is adopted in order to achieve:

• Autonomy in independence of operation of the different functional units (primary, child, administration and common uses).
• Creation of identity and relationship with the landscape, trying to make the building contribute to the relationship of scales between urban and rural landscape.

Following these objectives and taking into account the existence of a sloping slope towards the west end of the plot that limits the possibilities of using it, a building is proposed organized in two sectors and ordered primarily by an axis parallel to the east façade. While linear organizations, a more “porous” and fragmented treatment is proposed to achieve a scale more in line with the ages and type of activities of children in children..

“Among School Children” is a Poem by William Butler Yeats (1989) that portrays a beautiful school past, thought as reference during the design process, to be updated.

From the analysis of the topographic, urbanistic and orientation conditions of the plot, the proposed solution is adopted in order to achieve:

• Autonomy in independence of operation of the different functional units (primary, child, administration and common uses).
• Creation of identity and relationship with the landscape, trying to make the building contribute to the relationship of scales between urban and rural landscape.

Following these objectives, a first building for children’s education is proposed located to the north of the plot next to the area of ​​greater urban accessibility. This building is arranged in a “U” shape with two wings of children’s classrooms in direct relation with their courtyards and outside classrooms arranged parallel to the north facade. The discontinuity of the blocks allows generating two access possibilities; being used as the main access for this first phase the one located towards the north. The composition closes a gym block located at the southern end attached to the primary block through a covered porch.

Equilibrium Exercise

    With austerity of means and resources, the proposal raises rebalance some starting conditions to resolve programmatic and spatial requirements demanded.

General Management >>

    Based on the topography and orientation of the parcel as well as the needs of growth and a balanced budget, the proposal has the following objectives:
a. Autonomy of the different functional units (primary, infant, administration and common uses).
b. Autonomy and quality of outdoor spaces (regarding urbanized spaces, sunlight, functional clarity, protection).
c. Ease and consistency for future growth areas
d. Tours available: Avoid jumps in height between the spaces built within a plant and its outdoor spaces.

Implementation >>.

    Following these objectives raises two separate blocks parallel to the main facade located above the average elevation of the terrain.
The first block contains primary classrooms upstairs and the areas of administration and common uses on ground floor. This block is removed from the street to be located on natural ground elevation build ramps and stairs allowing access from the street and leaving room for the sports into the plot.

    The second block has a single-storey houses the Early Years teaching areas. This block also rests on the natural average elevation of the land and is located equidistant from the longitudinal boundaries of the plot, allowing reserve an area for expansion to the main facade.

Access and Distribution >>

    Given the differences in dimensions to save between sidewalks and the platform on which sits the building, generated three sets of access (ramps, stairs and parking) located in different parts of the facade.

    All these systems lead to the main entrance porch located at the southern end of the block on two floors. The porch leads into a lobby where you distribute the building’s five functional areas: administration, public areas, classrooms of children, primary school classrooms and outdoor space (yards).

    It also provides independent access to the playground and the gym.

    The organization of the building due to the clarity and functional independence of each of the parties. Downstairs a transverse axis associated with access separates into two large areas both indoors and outdoors: the northwest areas and sports, to the southeast area of administration and the playground.

    Two staircases located so equidistant from the center of the main block communicating with the upper floor where are located all primary classrooms. This plant is arranged in double bay with central circulation and concentrated around the elevator and main staircase, all the toilets and special classes or small group.