
Beelieve school by 3Arquitectura, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
A school in Mexico has been designed as a concrete circuit to invite people to explore the building. A huge central void in the building opens up a communal courtyard at the heart of the school, while a ramp progresses slowly from the ground floor to the upper levels, allowing people to traverse without a perceptible change in height. As well as concrete, the architects used bricks and wood to create the ‘honest’ aesthetic of the building. Photography: Leonardo Finotti

Beelieve school by 3Arquitectura, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
At the entrance to the school, a void in the roof opens up to allow an existing tree to continue its growth. The whole building was designed to intercept with the topography and nature of the site. A nearby forest encroaches on the site and is welcomed in through a series of gardens that become extensions of the the indoor classrooms. Photography: Leonardo Finotti

The Thomas P. Murphy Design Studio Building by Arquitectonica, University of Miami School of Architecture
The Miami School of Architecture just got a new building in the form of a brutalist concrete pavilion that will serve as a design laboratory and collaborative space for the students. Arquitectonica principals Bernardo Fort- Brescia and Laurinda Spear, as well as their son Raymond Fort, have been connected to the school through teaching, so it felt fitting for them to contribute to the institution’s future through this innovative, new space that includes studio areas, as well as digital fabrication facilities, exhibition areas, and various social and public functions. Photography: Robin Hill

The Thomas P. Murphy Design Studio Building by Arquitectonica, University of Miami School of Architecture
Made out of tactile materials, the structure is a modern design out of glass and concrete. It is, ‘in essence, a single, oversized shed’, explain the architects. A vaulted roof is suspended some 18 ft over the floor, featuring narrow steel columns and a few fixed walls. It encourages a sense of openness and collaboration, while also creating a focal point and public plaza outside, for the whole campus. The overall design is environmentally friendly, achieving LEED certification; the architects paid special attention in orientating it around the movements of the sun, so that it is a sustainable and comfortable working environment during the hot Miami summer months. Photography: Robin Hill

The Atlantic Pavilion by Valdemar Coutinho Arquitectos in Viana do Castelo, Portugal
The design of this community and educational sports pavilion corresponds to the necessity to create a low budget and easily maintained building for the City Council of Viana do Castelo. While Valdemar Coutinho Architects devised a ‘brutalist image’ using concrete and grey-bluish stapled stone tack for the facade, the architects refined the interior architecture to make it approachable and human. In the entrance hall, panels of grey embossed tiles have been designed by artist Mário Rocha. Photography: Joao Morgado

The Atlantic Pavilion by Valdemar Coutinho Arquitectos in Viana do Castelo, Portugal
The pavilion is made up of two parallelepiped volumes that are ‘implanted between themselves, forming a unique volume of dynamic and restrained lines’. The pavilion occupies its site to make the most of the space for sports facilities including volleyball and basketball courts, a playing field and four changing room blocks and social facilities including an entrance hall with seating, a cafeteria as well as space for technical support. Photography: Joao Morgado