The Garzón School

Learning beyond the classroom.

At The Garzón School, learning does not stop at the classroom door. The school in Uruguay was developed so that architecture and pedagogy shaped each other from the very beginning. Smaller buildings, courtyards, covered walkways, and outdoor learning spaces allow students to move between focused work, group activities, hands-on learning, and lessons under the open sky. The buildings are constructed in part from the CLT timber. Daylight, materials, and the close connection to the landscape make sure nature is a visible and sensory part of the school day.

Schools are traditionally organized around fixed classrooms and standardized teaching methods. The Garzón School takes a different approach, with physical spaces that support different ways of learning, collaborating, and finding quiet. Nature plays an active role in teaching, allowing students to experience climate, biodiversity, and resource use in practice rather than only learning about them in theory. The project shows how school architecture can support both learning and well-being while continuously making sure that our relationship with nature is a natural part of the education as well.