Climate Shelter in Ripollet
Winner of the competition organized by the AMB, the climate shelter for the Ginesta School is based on a dual objective: on one hand, to generate photovoltaic energy for the school’s self-sufficiency and make it a more sustainable infrastructure; on the other, to take the opportunity to build a canopy that responds to an increasingly urgent need in Catalan schools: shade.
With climate change, schoolyards —historically large asphalt surfaces with no trees— have become hostile spaces for much of the school year. If previously the summer break coincided with the hottest months, now the academic periods of May, June, September and even October are increasingly hard to endure. Education must rethink its outdoor spaces, and this project offers a concrete response to that reality.
The proposal sees the new structure not only as a photovoltaic roof but also as an architecture that serves as a support for nature. A large shade structure designed with an ecosystemic logic: reducing the heat island effect, hosting vegetation, and acting as both a bioclimatic and educational filter. The canopy, made of lightweight prefabricated steel profiles, is conceived as a reversible and adaptable infrastructure —ready to evolve into a future sports pavilion. The project values the coexistence of sustainability, functionality, and environmental learning.
