Designed by BCMF Arquitetos, the new Colégio Bernoulli in Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia in eastern Brazil—a place known for its cultural richness and natural beauty—accommodates over 1,600 students from early childhood through high school. Already operational, it serves both local families and those from surrounding regions.
The school’s extensive facilities include patios, gyms, art and music rooms, maker spaces, a theater, a kitchen, and an educational garden, all designed to promote active student engagement.
The 16,000-square-meter school is located in the affluent Caminho das Árvores neighborhood on Alameda das Catabas. The 4,200-square-meter plot is slightly elevated, offering sweeping views of Salvador’s skyline to the east.
The site’s irregular, trapezoidal geometry shaped the project’s layout. Two orthogonal blocks, each seven stories tall—one to the north, the other to the south—are set at a 20-degree angle along the curve of the Alameda, opening toward the eastern landscape.
The North Block, measuring approximately 20 meters wide and 40 meters deep, contains classrooms and activity areas for early childhood, elementary, and middle school students, as well as support and recreation zones. The South Block, divided into two stepped volumes, houses classrooms, a covered court, administrative offices, a library, an auditorium, and additional recreation spaces—all linked by ramps.
Environmental strategies and energy performance
The facade design balances openness with environmental control. Brise-soleils, oriented to solar exposure, reduce glare and heat gain in classrooms and gyms, lowering reliance on artificial lighting and cooling. Exposed mechanical and acoustic systems simplify maintenance and upgrades, ensuring adaptability with minimal disruption.
Sustainability underpins the design, focusing on energy efficiency, comfort, and thoughtful material use. Here, visual permeability preserves the panoramic view, while strategically placed brises minimize solar gain and glare. Exposed systems blend with the school’s visual identity, enhanced by a varied color palette across floors.
Functional spaces promoting flexibility
The environmental design and signage use color, pattern, and modularity to express the school’s values and encourage learning. Each grade level has a distinct color and panel system that is both decorative and educational, symbolizing students’ continuous growth.
Each floor is identified by its own color and graphic pattern, reflecting the technical, human, and abstract dimensions of education. Geometric forms, symbolic icons, and typography adapt across hallways and classrooms, allowing flexible compositions.
The visual system extends to sports areas, where symbolic and typographic icons celebrate Salvador’s local culture. The signage system is modular and easily updated, supporting flexibility while reinforcing the school’s identity.
Structural modularity and adaptability
The project’s flexibility relies on a prefabricated concrete structure based on a 7.5-meter grid. This modular system allows reconfiguration over time to accommodate evolving pedagogical models or new uses, extending the building’s lifespan.
Circulation voids and stadium-step staircases form informal gathering areas and support adaptability with minimal intervention. Covered sports courts on upper levels maximize usable space, showing how dense programming can work efficiently within industrialized systems.
The prefabricated structure continues into the basement for parking. On the seventh floor, sports courts have generous ceiling heights, while facade voids enhance spatial connections between floors. Staircases double as relaxation and recreation areas, and circulation spaces between blocks accommodate spontaneous gatherings and flexible use.
Materiality
The material palette, including exposed concrete, glass, expanded metal mesh, and brises, supports each volume’s function while mediating transparency between interior and exterior. Terraces and outdoor areas emerge from the interplay of mass and topography. Finishes follow the visual system’s color palette, shifting from cool to warm tones to reflect student growth.
Architecture plays a crucial role in student social dynamics, shaping interaction, communication, and engagement. In this context, Colégio Bernoulli shows how design can positively influence these relationships.
With schools in Belo Horizonte, Nova Lima, Salvador, and soon São Paulo, the architects sought to establish a formal vocabulary that defines a consistent institutional identity while remaining adaptable to each location’s characteristics. The result is a cohesive identity in image and operation, enriched by local influences.
Developed from a simple, modular, industrialized system, the Salvador campus offers a rich spatial experience. It aims to set a new standard for educational buildings in the city, enhancing the local landscape, the surrounding neighborhood, and the mix of indoor and outdoor spaces. The project encourages learning that extends beyond the classroom.
Circular design
Materials are chosen for durability and ease of disassembly. Interior partitions and modular panels can be reconfigured or reused, aligning with circular-economy principles. Standardized brises can be redistributed or dismantled at end of life. Exposed concrete, glass, expanded metal mesh, and modular signage combine robustness with flexibility.
Pedagogy, identity, and local culture
Environmental graphics and signage create a visual system that evolves with the student journey. Each grade level features distinct colors and patterns, reinforcing wayfinding and symbolizing transformation. Modular panels can be updated over time, extending their usability. Cultural references from Salvador anchor the project in its local context, integrating identity with the physical environment in an adaptable way.
