Edificio Lécole
“Think Global, Act Local”
Talleres de Apoyo para el Colegio  L´ecole

On this project, local practice Novhus had to develop a budget outline for the construction of classrooms which were going to be used as workshops (painting, music, dance and computer lab) for a school in the city of Puebla, Mexico that is growing and therefore requires the expansion of such facilities.
There were several preliminary ideas for this building and therefore Novhus decided to define areas for technical and economic level which would result in guidelines that later would translate as the most suitable proposal to the situation. The most important points referred to this stage of the project were:
Usage or a combination of reduced material; Regional materials; Low-cost materials; Techniques and basic construction procedures, without complexities; Mixed structure (rigid frame-based beams and columns and load-bearing walls); Low maintenance finishes; Propose a static core building type rather than a dispersed and dynamic one; Maximising natural lighting; Usage of cross ventilation; Solar protection in the rear facade of the building due to its orientation; Ventilation ducts to ensure that all spaces naturally breathe (ventilation).
This led Novhus to consider the following phrasing as flag of this project: ‘Think global, act local’, thus obtaining a building that could be classified as regional architecture but with far-reaching intentions.
Quite simply the property was divided into three parts: the first two towards the front of the street, and the last part towards the boundary in the back part as a green area. The construction was based in columns and beams, red clay brick walls, sand walls plastered with cement and painted in white, polished concrete floors with added colour, concrete stairs armed with marble grain, natural aluminium windows and clear glass railings and bars in carbon steel.
We feel that this building is a tangible demonstration of what can be done in a country where not always have the necessary resource. It also shows that the form, function and sustainability can exist even in its most basic, achieving a comfortable space for humans.