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How is it possible to open educational spaces to the outdoors, and what are the appropriate conditions for their development? What bioclimatic strategies can be implemented to contribute to environmental comfort and the cultural preservation of communities? By conceiving outdoor learning spaces and blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, the educational infrastructures projected by the Semillas association in the Peruvian jungle invite reflection on the opportunities for gathering, meeting, and community participation among students, families, and local residents. Linked to the site’s uses and customs, this conception of space represents a way of living where the implementation of bioclimatic strategies, along with the use of local materials and construction techniques, come together to create an architecture connected to its environment and history.
Being a non-profit organization based in Lima, Pangoa (Junín region), and San Ignacio (Cajamarca region), Semillas was founded in 2014 by Marta Maccaglia. Seeking to ensure that quality educational facilities reach all territories, they view education as the foundation for human and community development, understanding the territory and society to produce spaces consistent with the ethics and spirit of the place. After participating in numerous competitions, organizing multiple workshops, and leading various research projects and master plans, among other actions, their practice sees architecture as a cultural expression and a means to improve people’s quality of life, placing great value on community participation.
This is an architecture designed and built locally, with attention to local resources, environmental comfort, and the revaluation of public use, where the multiplicity of uses is present and coexists with the exchange of knowledge within the communities. As Marta Maccaglia states in an interview with Paula Pintos from ArchDaily, ‘In order to be able to work and offer a coherent architecture to each place we have to know its people, its culture, and its territory in-depth.”
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“Projects Cannot be Carried Out Without First Feeling and Understanding the Place”: Marta Maccaglia of Asociación Semillas
Below, discover a selection of 5 works built by Semillas along with their cross-sectional bioclimatic strategy diagrams.
El Huabo Primary and Secondary School / Semillas
Located in the northern jungle of Peru, the project rebuilds a primary and secondary school with more than 150 students from the rural area of the San Ignacio province. The proposed classrooms connect to outdoor spaces through sliding glass doors, while the corridors with benches and display walls also encourage their use, fostering interaction. The multipurpose space features openable doors that connect the interior with the educational gardens. Acting as a system of blocks among gardens, the project incorporates an educational farm outside. It is worth noting that the design and construction process was carried out by promoting community and student participation.
Technology and Environment Laboratory Mencoriari / Semillas
Taking place in the native community of Mencoriari in the central jungle of Peru, this project aims to create an educational space complementary to traditional classrooms through a workshop classroom conceived as a space for preserving ancient knowledge about plants and the forest. By linking the architectural space with the pedagogical space, the goal is to promote site-adapted spaces to foster teaching oriented toward revaluing the environmental and cultural wealth of the jungle, as well as to generate accessibility to local job opportunities. The proposal features an educational space for drying medicinal plants and roots alongside an ‘open classroom’ for researching and studying topics related to natural medicine, agriculture, and forestry. As a place for drying and living, the space can be opened to allow ventilation, reducing the interior temperature and connecting with the outdoors. The ideation, design, and construction process was developed through participatory workshops involving students and their families.
Alto Anapati Preschool / Semillas
Located in a Nomatsigenga native community in the central jungle of Peru, the Alto Anapati early childhood school was developed following an ethnographic approach and participatory workshops. Through ‘observation workshops’ to understand the teaching dynamics in the community and working sessions with families to reflect on the good living of indigenous peoples, the school is seen as the heart of the community, the soul of preserving Nomatsigenga knowledge and territory. In fact, its design reflects these learnings in the space. The multipurpose room is an open classroom without walls, connected to the ‘forest classroom,’ a space conceived as an outdoor classroom. Additionally, the classrooms open to the outside with large sliding glass doors. All enclosures are designed as boundaries that dissolve, connecting the interior with the exterior.
New Community Center for Otica Native Community / Semillas
On the banks of the Tambo River in the central jungle of Peru is the native community of Otica. Through participatory workshops, the project develops its architecture with a local character, incorporating community contributions. Being a catalyst for meetings and multipurpose use, the building is elevated from the ground to protect against floods, functioning as bleachers both outside and inside. A large roof protects from the sun and rain, ensuring environmental comfort with constant ventilation and natural lighting. Inspired by its surroundings, the proposal is conceived as a large covered plaza for multiple uses such as meetings, celebrations, and workshops.
School in Chuquibambilla / AMA + Paulo Vale Afonso + Bosch Arquitectos
The native community of Chuquibambilla is located in the high jungle of Peru. Beyond serving as a place of education during school hours, the school aims to be a development and exchange center for the entire community. With a broad outdoor program, the project includes covered and open-air patios of various scales, where spaces for different activities allow students to connect with nature and their traditions: outdoor classes, art workshops, clay work, crafts, agronomy, animal husbandry, cultivation, and more. The spaces are connected by a shaded pathway that serves as a meeting place and extends the program. It is a building where the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces blur, creating a public space connected to its surroundings.
This article is part of an ArchDaily curated series that focuses on built projects from our own database grouped under specific themes related to cities, typologies, materials, or programs. Every month, we will highlight a collection of structures that find a common thread between previously uncommon contexts, unpacking the depths of influence on our built environments. As always, at ArchDaily, we highly appreciate the input of our readers. If you think we should mention specific ideas, please submit your suggestions.
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