Italian architecture and landscape firm Mixtura has designed a wood-structured conventual complex in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, that provides both a space for worship and philanthropic services.

The approximately 57,000-square-foot building, called the convent of the Franciscan Fraternity of Bethany, was completed as part of a social project that the Bethany Foundation Onlus has been carrying out in Brazil since 2010. 

The initiative has so far seen the construction of a kindergarten for 120 children from the neighboring favelas. It also includes the construction of a school complex for more than 500 children living in conditions of serious hardship. 

The complex’s design was formed via a participatory method that involved architects and clients with the shared goal of creating a space that would establish a positive relationship between the users, the built environment, and nature. 

"As architects, we strongly believe that architecture can positively change people's lives. The convent is a project that we have been involved in, both professionally and humanly, for many years. It was not only about creating a building but also about understanding the deep nature of the place where we were going to design," said Mixtura architect Cesare Querci.

The complex is comprised of low-tech buildings, defined by wood textures that form the structure and cladding. This is reinforced by the use of local artisanal practices and traditional cooling techniques. 

The architects reimagined the classic typology of the convent, which is developed around a single closed cloister, by multiplying the number of cloisters and thinning out the buildings to allow the wind to circulate between the complex’s six buildings. The buildings include a refectory, a church, an administration building, a library, a sacristy, and cells. 

The buildings are protected from direct solar radiation through large wooden roofs and brise-soleil. Permeable walls and rotating adjustable panels keep the rooms naturally ventilated, which allows for a more environmentally-friendly space. Photovoltaic panels and rainwater recovery systems further contribute to the building’s energy efficiency. 

"Salvador de Bahia is a special place, where Western culture merges with African culture to foster a unique cultural and religious syncretism,” Querci added. “But its suburbs are also very fragile and dangerous places, where violence and crime are the paradigm people deal with on a daily basis. The convent is located in this context, in the São Cristóvão neighborhood, one of the poorest and most dangerous in Salvador. Here, good architecture can be an antidote to the marginality to which millions of people are condemned in suburbs throughout the world. It is a sign of respect and dignity."