Shaping an Experience

A key factor in the character of Atlas Academy is tectonics — the constructive honesty of an architectural piece. Understanding a building from its bones to its skin means grappling with the practical decisions behind its structural system; decisions that are ultimately governed by the dynamics and experiences we seek to create for the people who inhabit it day to day.

In the case of this school, the intentions were clear from the outset. The aim was to create a safe environment for children: one where the lines of the building would guide movement through it, where the arrangement of classrooms around courtyards would allow for a constant visual connection between inside and outside. Imagining children running and laughing through the corridors was motivation enough to eliminate, at all costs, any blind spots and sharp forms — including 90-degree vertices.

Concrete block felt like the right choice: a single material that resolves both structure and finish simultaneously. Starting from the understanding that concrete block is an industrialised product, we became curious about its fabrication process — the mould, the pour. We approached Grupo Joben with a suggestion and a question: could a curved mould be made, and what would that entail? The implications were these — a custom mould whose cost was negligible relative to the project’s overall investment, a longer production time, and the need to resolve every corner at a consistent radius, so that a single special piece could address the whole project.

The result: corners that unfold like a ribbon, opening the field of vision and interacting subtly with light — turning an exposed block wall into an invitation to play. Dynamics that allow the building to recede into the background, so that what truly matters is the life unfolding within it.