Eleva School

Eleva School

Eleva School is an innovative educational facility in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, representing a remarkable example of adaptive architectural design and sustainable construction principles. The project, designed by architect Miguel Pinto Guimarães and his team in 2017-2019, demonstrates exceptional transformation of an existing commercial structure into a comprehensive educational environment. The architectural intervention's cornerstone feature involves the strategic elimination of a substantial ground floor section to create a covered patio, serving as a central circulation hub that seamlessly connects various landscaped areas through an internal garden. The building's distinctive external skin functions as a sophisticated brise-soleil system, reducing solar radiation on east and west facades by 50 percent while artistically interpreting the region's indigenous wetland ecosystem, particularly its mangrove landscape with emergent root systems. The project, which earned a Silver A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design category, showcases outstanding environmental consciousness through its carefully curated landscape design, incorporating drought-resistant local flora, fruit trees for fauna attraction, and permeable pathways. The facility spans an impressive 16,795.83 square meters of site area with 10,482.35 square meters of construction area, featuring innovative solutions to challenging orientation issues through its enveloping architectural skin. The design successfully integrates educational functionality with ecological sensitivity, employing natural lighting strategies, sustainable water management practices, and biophilic design elements that create a harmonious learning environment while paying homage to the local ecosystem.

educational architecture, sustainable design, adaptive reuse, biophilic design, environmental integration, architectural innovation

— Adam Dawson