December 10, 2018

Last month, on November 20, an innovative school complex in Brazil called Children Village (Moradias Infantis in Portuguese) won the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Prize. The biennial International Prize goes to a new building that “exemplifies design excellence and architectural ambition and delivers meaningful social impact.” RIBA, a professional body for the advancement of architecture, was founded in London, England, in 1834.

Children Village, a new school complex on the edge of the rain forest in northern Brazil, was awarded the RIBA International Prize in November 2018. Credit: © Cristobal Palma/Estudio Palma/RIBA

Brazil’s Aleph Zero and Rosenbaum architectural groups collaborated to create Children Village in the remote village of Canuanã on the edge of the Amazon rain forest in northern Tocantins state. While designing and building the school, the architects and designers had to consider the area’s steamy climate, and they worked closely with the students who would be living in the complex as well as with the children’s families and local trades workers. Children Village is one of 40 rural schools funded by the Bradesco Foundation, a charitable arm of Brazil’s Banco Bradesco.

Children Village boarding school serves 540 students aged 13 to 18 in a remote agricultural region near the municipality of Formoso do Araguaia. Opened in 2017, the school is made almost entirely from locally sourced brick and timber. A giant canopy shades the 251,000 square foot (23,300 square meter) complex’s two open-sided levels, each supported by wooden beams and perforated, breathable walls that allow for ample cross-ventilation. No air conditioning is needed, even in 113 °F (45 °C) heat. Central classrooms and activity spaces open onto balconies, courtyards, walkways, and two large dormitories.

In 2016, the inaugural RIBA International Prize was awarded to Ireland’s Grafton Architects for their outstanding university building, UTEC (Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología) in Lima, Peru.

November 21, 2017

An innovative college campus building in Lima, Peru, is the inaugural winner of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Prize for the world’s best new building. Ireland’s Grafton Architects created the University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) building, a vertical, concrete structure in the city’s lovely Barranco district overlooking the Pacific Ocean. RIBA, a professional body for the advancement of architecture, was founded in London, England, in 1834.

The UTEC building in Lima, Peru, won the inaugural RIBA International Prize for world’s best new building. Credit: © Christian Vinces, Shutterstock

The building’s stark reinforced concrete plates stand in line with the rolling green cliffs of Barranco, housing an all-in-one campus of classrooms, exhibition spaces, laboratories, offices, restaurants, theaters, and interior gardens that absorb the area’s temperate climate. Air circulates throughout the open spaces of the puzzle-piece building, which is flooded with natural light.

An exceptional example of civil architecture, UTEC’s 10 floors form a “modern-day Machu Picchu” with a large A-shaped section leaning toward the busy Quebrada de Armendáriz avenue. (Machu Picchu is an Inca archaeological site in Peru.) The backside staggers above nearby ravines and terraces. The building, also dubbed a “man-made cliff,” is built at an angle on fast-sloping ground, reflecting Lima’s unique geography and existing architecture. The city is a bustling mix of old and new, filling a dramatic space between the gray expanse of sea and the green foothills of the Andes Mountains.

Grafton Architects, based in Dublin, worked with Lima’s Shell Arquitectos on the $100 million project, which was completed in 2015.