Stella Maris School | Uruguay

The project involves constructing a 709 m² pavilion and rehabilitating a 298 m² house, which will be largely preserved with adaptive architectural interventions to suit its new educational function.

This project is designed to balance pedagogical needs with spatial design. Beyond focusing on functionality, it aims to create an environment that supports the institution’s educational mission. The new pavilion integrates harmoniously with the existing surroundings, connecting to the original house on both the ground and first levels via a closed bridge, ensuring smooth circulation.

The ground floor of the new building features the main entrance hall, administrative offices, and a multipurpose space that opens onto a large patio, visually and physically linking to the garden. Designed for flexibility, this space can easily adapt to future pedagogical needs or teaching methods. The upper floors house classrooms, restrooms, and meeting rooms, all designed to foster a comfortable, functional learning environment.

The rehabilitated house provides offices, a dining area, kitchen, canteen, and restrooms on the ground floor. Classrooms are located on the upper floor, enhanced by original terraces and balconies, which expand the space and improve the quality of the educational environment.

This holistic design ensures that the architecture aligns with the school’s educational goals, creating a positive impact on the learning experience. The existing swimming pool will be repurposed as a rainwater reservoir, with a top slab extending the garden’s grass, maximizing outdoor recreational space and promoting sustainability.

The garden, home to heritage and landscape-worthy plants, will be restored and revitalized, becoming a central social space within the school’s environment. The reorganization of the parking area and pool expands the permeable space, with a redesigned garden incorporating native or low-water plants that require minimal upkeep, aligning with the organization’s sustainability goals. This redesign not only enhances the aesthetics but also fosters student interaction and integration.

As part of the Stella Maris project, the Stella Maris Kids space, designed for the Nursery level, is being developed with a vision that sees the building not just as a container, but as a pedagogical tool capable of enhancing learning and the well-being of its users. The architecture is designed to maximize key aspects such as natural lighting and environmental comfort, elements that are controlled and optimized through the architectural proposal to create a stimulating and adaptable environment.

The building adopts the concept of flexible hyper-classrooms, allowing spaces to be reconfigured according to pedagogical and teacher needs. Various scenarios are considered in terms of acoustics, activities, age segmentation, and collaborative learning dynamics. This flexibility aligns with the idea of a living building, capable of transforming as educational methodologies and user requirements evolve. The architectural proposal aims to ensure that these adaptations can be made quickly and efficiently, guaranteeing that the space dynamically responds to changes in teaching and learning.

The architectural proposal for Stella Maris School goes beyond meeting functional needs; it preserves and revalues the existing environment, integrating it with the new building while respecting its architectural heritage. This approach addresses modern educational challenges, maintaining the school’s identity and values, and transforming the space into a pedagogical tool.