Veer Arquitetos completed the Escola Crescimento’s Early Childhood Sector with nature and creativity at its core in São Luís, Brazil.

The Crescimento School, located in São Luís/MA, has built a comprehensive pedagogy and quality education for its students from nursery to high school over its 39 years of existence. In recent years, we have established a partnership with the institution and have been gradually modernizing its entire physical space. In this stage, we completely renovated the entire area of the Early Childhood Education sector, including classrooms, a playground, and the addition of an experimental kitchen space. The project was designed to meet the challenge of minimal interventions, using easily accessible materials for quick execution during the vacation period. In the end, all client demands were met without compromising the playful, cosy, and inviting atmosphere for the young students!

For the classrooms, a design standard was created so that it could be easily replicated in the other classrooms with slight variations in their layout and dimensions. This ensures uniformity without sacrificing functionality. The classrooms feature specially designed tables with rounded corners and built-in slots for pencils and pens; a sisal rope art display; storage cabinets exclusively for teachers’ materials; a small, easily accessible library at the students’ height and glass boards to support various activities.

As for the Playground, which surrounds the entire outdoor area and circulation spaces between classrooms, we drew inspiration from the freedom of children’s play. We have created an open space without separations, where the wooden floor connects the entire area. Along the way, we’ve created islands that serve as support for various activities without fixed designations such as grass pockets, small hills and a sandbox that can be covered as needed and used as a small stage for students. Furthermore, the fluidity of the space allows the school to use the toys it already owned before the renovation and to bring students from different classes together for occasional activities.

The final addition to the Early Childhood Education sector was the creation of the Experimental Kitchen. Located at the end of the Playground, this space allows activities involving food that might not be suitable for a classroom setting. Equipped with an oven, cooktops, countertops, and sinks for both students and teachers, the kitchen becomes the perfect place for culinary experiments and discoveries for the little ones in the early stages of their school journey.

Design: Veer Arquitetos
Architects: Rafael Duailibe and Gabriela Rodrigues
Design Team: Amanda Monteiro and Emanuelle Fonseca
Photography: Jesús Perez