RANCHILLOS RURAL SCHOOL

LAND architects has designed a new school in the Maule region of Chile

In the summer of 2017, Chile suffered one of the biggest fire storms in its history, specifically in the south central area, consuming about 600,000 hectares. The Maule region was the epicentre, destroying entire towns along with the Rural School of Ranchillos, a public administration that serves the surrounding communities of that rural area.

For the design of the new school, LAND architects took an image of a farmhouse or village as a reference point. The design is made up of pavilions that when connected, generate a greater space for convergence and participation. Each volume or pavilion corresponds to a program, giving the project spatial independence according to its particular needs which converge in a central multipurpose space. The volumes are structured in pine wood donated by CMPC, which are completely covered due to fire standards for educational establishments, with RF cardboard plasterboard on both sides.

The project also incorporates sustainable strategies such as double heights, ventilated skins on floors, walls and ceilings, double insulation according to Chilean standards on floors, among others. The project seeks to be a benchmark in rural schools in vulnerable areas in Chile, capable of influencing the quality of student learning in areas characterised by poverty and rurality.