Secondary school extension

The project sits on the edge of a 15.148m2 urban plot adjacent to a higway. Is the extensión of a 7.822 m2 90`s school block. The strategy has detonated from the small scale of the material, reducing the imported resources targeting two objectives, first: minimizing the ecological footprint by reducing the "resource map", second: to locate the building in a context much larger than the physical, the economic and the cultural. The manufacturers of precast concrete have a large palette of materials available on the island that do not dependent on imports. Since the implementation of the concrete block as a base element of construction in Mallorca, has created a thriving industry of small manufacturers using local aggregates that produce a wide range of small pieces very characteristic of the residential areas of the 70s. It is therefore an exercise that explores the visual capabilities as well as "re-valuate" banal elements used in architecture that do not enjoy the "status" of other materials. Several resistance tests have been made to determine the strength of the blocks that have not been used in its usual position, and when the resistance is surpassed the blocks return are placed in their traditional position. The facade has been designed as self-supporting, a cross between a ventilated façade and a cavity wall, improving the thermal efficiency. The extension is a literal translation of the exiting construction, a bold continuation with no desire for standing out. It also allow us to optimize elements, using as many architectural elements and technical aspects of the existing building as the stairs, the elevator system or the central heating. The new structure has been resolved with large span prefabricated elements in order to provide structural continuity and create flexible spaces with possibilities of redistribution.