Green Campus

At ODA

Monterrey, Mexico

2017 - 2019

Being part of the design team for this project, I was able to collaborate in the design and development of all of the buildings in this campus, although I was mostly involved with the school buildings and the external areas. I will be focusing mostly on these two.

We designed a new campus for a renowned local school on the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico. The site is located in what used to be a fruit farm. It has a long rectangular shape with a depression in the middle and enjoyable views of the mountains surrounding it.

aerial view

The campus comprises seven buildings: an administration building, a kindergarten, two school buildings, a scenic arts building, a sports centre and a commercial building; along with a large and a small sports field, a long courtyard between the school buildings, a civic plaza, leisure areas and three vehicular circuits.

site view

The buildings spread across the site in a near linear axis, allowing accessible circulation through the whole campus. Its design considers several sustainable practices in all of its buildings.

site plan

The school consists of two long buildings with an almost north-south orientation. A courtyard and four bridges keeps them connected. In the ground level we can find the common areas: those designated for art, science, and technology, and also the cafeteria and the library’s lobby. The classrooms are located in the first and second floors, where the scholar levels advance from east to west starting with elementary in the east, middle school in the center and ending with high school in the east. The rooftops become usable areas with roof gardens and orchards. Solar energy is harnessed with several arrays of photovoltaic panels. The library is an iconic element, with its characteristic opaque, stone-like facade to protect it from the sun, and a four story high opening in its core.