Located some 36 kilometers from the capital of the province, and 22 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela, the municipality of A Estrada is surrounded by the green landscape of the Ulla, Vea, and Tabeirós river valleys. With a population of almost 21,000 inhabitants, the small town in Pontevedra has a strong woodworking tradition, with a flourishing furniture industry.

The new kindergarten is situated on the edge of the urban center, where the town and the countryside come together. In a place where the industrial past is still present in the collective memory, and where some old facilities remain. A series of volumes, almost elementary, are connected as if they were the wood houses in a nearby ‘rueiro,’ evoking the woodworking tradition of the area.

The functional scheme of the school is very simple. Three longitudinal bands fulfill the needs of the program. To the north, administration and services; to the south the classrooms and, at the center, the multipurpose room and general distribution hall of the building.

The main access is located on the east facade, the only one in contact with the street. Along the north facade a service entrance is reserved for staff, supplies, and installation maintenance. 

The central volume has no partitions, but it is organized by the roof surfaces and skylights that define the space, reduce acoustic impact, let daylight in, and favor ventilation. This differentiation of spaces is not drastic, but visually helps to separate areas that can be used during different times of the day or for a variety of activities.

The south band contains the classrooms. Slightly square-shaped, each one of them has a play area from side to side, a hygiene area, and a resting area. The hygiene area, along the facade, offers control, daylight and natural ventilation. The resting area, towards the interior, creates an ideal space for audiovisuals or, simply, permits organizing the classroom into different areas. 

The building’s structural system consists of load-bearing walls of spruce plywood, isolated on the facades and lined with autoclave treated pine wood. The roof is built with double board over laminated wood beams, insulation, and zinc. The window frames are also made of wood, and the partitions and linings, of plasterboard.