PROGRAM: Educational
AREA: 254 m²
LOCATION: Els Alamús, Lleida, Spain
STATUS: Completed
TIMEFRAME: 2006–2008
Arreletes Daycare is located between the village of Els Alamús and the geometric landscape of fields and fruit orchards that surrounds it. The natural slope organizes the building into two volumes: classrooms and courtyard at the lower level, and staff spaces above, connected by a staircase integrated into the terrain.
The project translates elements of the agricultural landscape into architectural experience. On the west façade, a composition of coloured glass abstracts the shadow of apple-tree leaves, turning light into an element of play and recognition for the children.
The interiors are continuous and flexible; the lobby and one classroom can be transformed into a dining space. Steel, concrete, glass and wood create a direct material language, while the green roof preserves views towards the fields and contributes to thermal comfort.
Arreletes represents an early expression of an approach that remains central to Vilalta Studio: reading the place, recognizing its resources and memories, and translating them into geometry, atmosphere and spaces that belong to their context.
This project marked the beginning of my career as an architect, both through the knowledge I gained during its design and construction and by observing how children and local residents later interacted with the building. Through this experience, I came to understand that analyzing a place and its existing resources from multiple perspectives-including personal experience-can become an essential part of the architectural process. When research is closely connected to context and memory, it can be translated into geometry and atmosphere, creating meaningful spaces that resonate both from within and in relation to their surroundings.
DIRECTOR: Xavier Vilalta
PROJECT TEAM: Núria Navarro, Cristina Porta
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING: Gonzalo Melián
MEP ENGINEERING: Josep Maria Servetó
QUANTITY SURVEYOR: Mario Campos
CONTRACTOR: Ojeda Construccions
PHOTOGRAPHY: Jordi Anguera