Thau School in Barcelona
Adapted walkways for access to the Thau Barcelona School.
The Lluís de Requesens Institute is located at the urban limit of the municipality of Molins de Rei in Barcelona, along with the Ferran Agulló primary and elementary school and the Ricard Ginebreda sports facilities, and limited one of its sides by the B-23 motorway.
The project is developed from the division of the functional program of the Institute into two segregated parts: a building with two more floors, where the classrooms, administration areas, teachers’ offices, and library are located, and a second building of one floor that groups the kitchen and dining area and the gym with its changing rooms. This second building participates more directly from the courtyards and communicates with the first one through a porch that permits access protected from the rain.
The building is located following the north-south direction so that none of its main facades lead to the B-23 freeway in order to minimize its acoustic impact. Its main facades are oriented north-south, placing the largest number of classrooms in the north to avoid the discomforts of sunshine and glare. In this position, the building is aligned with Menéndez Pelayo Street, generating in some way an extension of its treed ramp. The main access is located precisely at the corner between Menéndez Pelayo and Felipe Canallas. In this confluence, the main building is set back, generating an extension in the entrance area to emphasize and favor the access.
The structure is made of precast concrete pillars and slabs. As for the facades, those on the ground floor are made of prefabricated concrete panels while those on the upper floors are facades ventilated with galvanized and lacquered steel panels. As for sunscreens, they are made of perforated extruded aluminum. The ground floor and the interiors are painted in yellow in contrast to the grey steel of the upper floors and the slats. In the courtyards Koelreuterias and Parkinsonias were planted, whose flowers are also yellow.