The completed 3,417-square-meter school combines mass timber, long-term spatial adaptability, cross-ventilated classrooms and a building-scale acoustic response to one of São Paulo’s busiest expressways.
Colégio Santa Cruz, São Paulo, Brazil
About this story
Andrade Morettin Arquitetos Associados designed the new Colégio Santa Cruz kindergarten as a courtyard building that shields teaching spaces from Marginal Pinheiros traffic noise while opening northward. Ground-floor classrooms surround a sensory central garden and each connects to a private planted backyard, supporting natural light, cross-ventilation and indoor-outdoor teaching. Upper-level art, dining and administrative spaces open to covered terraces. The predominantly glulam structure is part of a hybrid system incorporating concrete, steel and drywall.
Status and timeline
Completed in 2026 and newly published with full photography and project credits.
Design highlights
The building as an acoustic barrier; mass-timber educational construction; central sensory garden; cross-ventilated classrooms; classroom backyards; playful ramp circulation; mobile furniture; modular structure designed for future pedagogical change.
