Situated in the fields of a rural environment 30 kilometres west of Madrid, the Educan School by Lys Villalba and Enrique Espinosa is a multi-species, non-human centred design. The architecture, constructed primarily with shipping containers, explores sustainable building technologies and materials as well as strategies to recover the condition of the surrounding ecosystem.
The exterior of the building accommodates small birds with sparrows in particular nesting in the circular holes of the container edges. These species feed on rodents and insects in the surrounding fields, thus maintaining a balance with crops and other local flora.
Inside, two main classrooms accommodate dog/human pairs practising dog agility sports such as Schutzhund. The overall average eye height of windows drops from over a meter and a half to just half a meter and interior openings are raised more than one meter to avoid distracting dogs.
Materials specified are oriented to non-humans and include floors finished with a removable PTE-based synthetic turf, which is approved for canine training. Theory classrooms are finished with a semi-polished, exposed aggregate of river pebbles. Interior walls feature a sound-absorbing pyramid foam insulation that minimizes echo, noise, and reverberation.
Throughout the design, material ecology and waste reduction strategies were central. This includes the use of shipping containers and undulating formwork made of sheets recovered from the off-cuts of the new trusses.
Environmental control strategies include an automated air conditioning system and bioclimatic control elements such as perforated shutters or roller blinds.
