SANTA EULÀRIA DES RIU SCHOOL
DESARROLLA BUILDS THE MUNICIPAL NURSERY SCHOOL OF SANTA EULÀRIA DES RIU, A BRIGHT AND ACCESSIBLE PROJECT DESIGNED FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD
The teams at Desarrolla Obras y Servicios have just completed construction of the Escoleta Municipal de Santa Eulària des Riu. A project born from a clear premise: to create an accessible, welcoming, and light-filled space where architecture accompanies the earliest years of life of the town’s youngest residents.The project, designed by the estudio de arquitectura MAHT and commissioned by the Ajuntament de Santa Eulària des Riu, is conceived as a single-storey building that responds to the scale of its users and engages in dialogue with its surroundings through simplicity, functionality, and beauty.The proposal is structured around a central corridor that acts as the heart of the building. Around it are arranged the classrooms and service areas, laid out in a perimeter that ensures every room maintains a direct relationship with the outdoors.
A natural connection between spacious areas
This openness to the covered courtyards—offering protection from sun and rain while naturally extending the interior—turns the Escoleta Municipal de Santa Eulària des Riu into a small landscape of discovery, where every classroom breathes, looks outward, and expands beyond its walls.One of the most distinctive architectural elements of this project is the lightweight roof, which rises strategically to allow zenithal light to enter. The skylights bring in a soft, even natural illumination that bathes the corridor without glare, creating a serene and welcoming atmosphere.This careful treatment of light, essential in educational spaces, defines much of the identity of the project and is echoed in the generous outdoor porches, designed both for play and for sustainability: they shelter, protect, and regulate solar gain during the warmest months.
A DESIGN THAT FUSES FORM AND SUBSTANCE
The Escoleta Municipal de Santa Eulària des Riu is completed with a volumetry that deliberately avoids sharp edges. At the ends of the building, the curved corners soften transitions, eliminate risks, and bring a formal warmth that connects with the welcoming character of the whole.This decision, as functional as it is aesthetic, speaks of a design that places the well-being of children at its core.The requirements program includes nine classrooms —three for each age group between 0 and 3 years— with their corresponding bathrooms, toilets, and sleeping areas, as well as a psychomotricity room, dining room, kitchen, laundry, administrative spaces, and support areas.All of this is complemented by a perimeter garden and adjoining outdoor areas that expand the educational possibilities of the building.More than a collection of spaces, the Escoleta Municipal de Santa Eulària des Riu is a project where architecture becomes a refuge, a stimulus, and a stage for learning.A work that, without fanfare, shapes childhood through light, accessibility, and a constant relationship with the outdoors. A nursery school designed for growing, exploring, and inhabiting with joy.Visit us at the construction company’s office in Ibiza.
