RENDERS: VOID
Aprendizaje
A learning landscape where architecture nurtures independence, curiosity, and discovery.
ALCANCE
Arquitectura
Landplanning
ÁREA
11,810 sqm
Filii is an educational project located in Santa Ana, Costa Rica, conceived around the principles of Montessori education. The proposal explores how architecture can support a child-centered learning experience, creating an environment that encourages independence, exploration, and the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of students.
Set within a site characterized by irregular topography and surrounding vegetation, the project responds to the landscape as a fundamental design parameter. Through a detailed slope analysis, areas with gradients below 15% were identified to strategically distribute the school’s four main programmatic components: elementary school, high school, administration and services, and shared amenities. Rather than imposing a single structure on the terrain, the architectural composition adapts to its natural conditions, establishing a dialogue between the built environment and the landscape.
The main building serves as the organizing element of the campus, combining classrooms across two levels with an elevated walkway and rooftop gardens. More than a circulation element, this structure acts as a bridge connecting the main entrance to the farthest areas of the property, where orchards and a butterfly sanctuary extend the educational experience into nature. Administrative offices, elementary school buildings, and recreational facilities are distributed alongside this central axis, creating a network of interconnected learning environments.
Beyond the classroom, a school where every path becomes an opportunity to explore, connect, and grow.
The architectural language combines exposed concrete, glass, and metal with corten steel and colored metallic louvers. This material diversity establishes a contemporary identity while introducing visual distinctions between different areas of the campus. Color becomes an intuitive orientation tool, identifying grade levels and reinforcing the relationship between architecture and the students who inhabit it.
Beyond its functional organization, Filii proposes a different relationship between education, architecture, and the natural environment. Circulation spaces become opportunities for discovery, gardens extend the boundaries of the classroom, and the landscape becomes an active component of everyday learning. By integrating the Montessori philosophy into its spatial organization, the project creates an educational environment that encourages autonomy, curiosity, and meaningful connections with the surroundings.
Filii envisions a school where architecture does not simply accommodate learning, but actively encourages exploration, independence, and a deeper understanding of the world.
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