Building Serra de Bèrnia Secondary School in Xaló, Alicante

Xaló, a town in the inland part of la Marina Alta in Alicante province, needed a complete educational facility. The new school, named Serra de Bèrnia, stands on a 10,814 m2 plot of land on the outskirts of the town and has 5,735 m2 in gross floor area.  

The design has two distinct areas: firstly, the main classroom block running parallel to the eastern boundary with the Camí del Cementeri, and secondly at the opposite end, the gym with changing rooms. Between the two buildings are the sports courts, landscaped areas and outdoor play areas. The main building is a three-storey structure. The nursery school takes up a single floor at the southern end of the building while the primary and secondary classrooms are on the upper floors. 

The second building used for sports is at the western end of the plot. It consists of a basic programme of a first year nursery classroom, four infant classrooms, eight primary classrooms, eight secondary classrooms, a sports area with a gym and a cafeteria for 213 pupils.  

The school is equipped with a centrally managed HVAC system which also controls security, detects possible fires and monitors the photovoltaic system on the roofs of the primary and secondary school blocks.