The design process was informed by a thorough interdisciplinary work with the pedagogical team. The building had to provide an array of spaces for learning, creative and cultural experiences for the children of the local community. The forest is the first learning space, and the way the building relates to it exemplifies a respectful and enriching relationship between nature and the human habitat. A series of smaller scale and specific learning rooms were required for distinct groups of children and activities, while a large and more versatile space was meant to be a common area for integration, display and socializing.
The circular classrooms have a smaller scale, a translucent skin and a more introverted quality, fostering concentration and focus. They flock into the central square space, which is taller, spatially flexible, and has a transparent open perimeter that allows it to relate with the exterior through the gaps between classrooms. For the visitor who walks through the forest, the low and organic horizontal building appears suddenly among the trees, bathed with light. It contrasts with the verticality of the trees, while the wooden materiality relates to it.
An interplay between curved and straight walls, open and closed spaces, light and shadows, transparencies and translucencies bring some of the spatial experience and mystery of the forest into the building. Since its opening the Learning Center has been providing a consistent schedule of workshops and classes on a weekly basis, together with regular displays of performances and production for the families. On specific days, special events are also held during dusk, when the building acts like a soft lamp that supports activities around it.
