La Felicidad School

[Timothee Cazares]

Textdescription provided by the architects. Advocated by the District Department of Education and summoned by the Colombian Society of Architects in Bogot D.C and Cundinamarca, in 2013 a public contest was realized in order to select the best proposal of design for a school in the location of Fontibn. The architecture firm FP Arquitectura won the first place in the contest with a proposal titled: A classroom a Courtyard, a School a Grand Courtyard. Finally, the school was built and inaugurated at the end of 2017, and selected by Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo- BID, as one of the most innovative schools in Latin America, due to its integration with the community and the creative design applied to a contemporary educational model.

Principal Idea

In contraposition to the traditional schemes of the organisation of educational spaces, of wards of corridors with classrooms on the sides, the school La Felicidad is conceived under an ordering principle that consists of a series of courtyards which each one articulates the components of the educational spaces. This allows bringing activities outside of the classroom and permits integration with nature.

The Organisation of the School

The school is organised in four large zones that are located around a big central courtyard. On the southern side, the classrooms of primary school are organised on the first level and the ones of secondary school on the second level. On the northern side, with separate access, the preschool classrooms are located in one single level. The school canteen and auditorium are located on the western side. The eastern side, as a representative volume of the whole, hosts the centre of integrated resources, the library and the administrative spaces. Part of this block is elevated from the ground permitting transparency and accessibility to the main courtyard and generating a possibility of integration with the neighbourhood.

Input on the Pedagogical Processes

Giving access to courtyards and terraces of different scales as an extension of the educational spaces permits the students to have greater contact with natural light, the vegetation and open spaces. In addition, it gives the teachers the possibility to realize other non-typical pedagogical activities, as the cultivation of a garden or group works in the open air. The courtyards of various scales (courtyard-classrooms, recess courtyards and the big main courtyard) are conceived as spaces for democratic life, permitting the encounter and recognition of the students and the teachers as a part of an academic community, and in a wider sense, as citizens.

Technical and Economic Viability

A structure of gateways of concrete in two levels and a reduced palette of materials was proposed: exposed brick walls, stoneware and cobble floors, windows of clear tempered glass, anodized grey aluminium, steel tubing for handrails and fences. All resistant materials of low maintenance and low costs that do not require specialized workforce.

Felicidad Duce Ripolls founded her fashion school-workshop in 1928, which through the decades and thanks to her contribution became a benchmark institution in higher fashion education in Spain. The school was acquired in 2013 by the Canadian network LCI Education, which made it its European campus. Since then, LCI Barcelona has not only preserved the know-how of Felicidad Duce, but has also internationalized its educational excellence so that it reaches people from all over the world.

Meet the founder of our Fashion School in this video that has the testimony of Mercedes Freixas, daughter of Felicidad Duce, honorary president of the centre and promoter of an award in honor of her mother:

The success of the Felicidad Duce Fashion School is the result of the tireless work of its founder, a self-made visionary who managed to consolidate her innovative educational proposal thanks to her own method of great influence in the national fashion industry that has its book editorial.

After a first contact with the world of sewing at age 12, Felicidad Duce learned from the best professionals of the time and ended up creating her school-workshop. The institution was gaining prestige and notoriety with the passage of time driven by the strength of its founder, a strong defender of the official recognition of fashion studies.

Along with her students, she participated in making cinematographic costumes for the stars of the moment, and knew how to spread her vision of fashion through the media (newspapers, magazines and radio programs echoed her teachings). Another of her great achievements was getting graduating students to parade at the Ritz Hotel, a privilege reserved only for big brands.

The school has had great professors and professionals from the world of pattern making, being the master Pedro Rodrguez one of the most important in its entire history. A good friend of Felicidad Duce, they worked together to develop innovative ideas to offer the best training to students, a heritage that has prevailed over the years. Currently, professionals such as Miguel Elola, a disciple of Cristbal Balenciaga and Pedro Rodrguez himself, continue to transmit their values and concepts to new generations.

Throughout her career, Felicidad Duce left her mark on the industry as a woman ahead of her time, a contemporary creative and with a great business vision that became a benchmark in the fashion sector. The complexity of the 20th century did not prevent her from founding an innovative school with an eye toward empowering women through learning about professional design and pattern making.

Her pedagogical work, her entrepreneurial spirit and the defense of women's social and economic rights made her worthy of numerous recognitions such as the Medal of Merit at Work. The national fashion scene is not understood without her contribution, to the point that some of the best-known designers of recent years have studied in her classrooms. The legacy of Felicidad Duce lives on through the professionals of the LCI Barcelona Fashion School, who spread all her know-how and knowledge.

Felicidad Garcia, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD). Before coming to Temple University, Dr. Garcia worked as an SLP in New York City, specializing in the treatment of bilingual and bidialectal clients in subacute rehab and school settings.

Dr. Garcia's research interests include dual-language learning and bidialectalism. Her doctoral work, conducted at the Neurocognition of Language Lab at Teachers College, used electroencephalographic (EEG) methods to compare morphosyntax processing in bidialectal speakers of African American English and Mainstream American English. Dr. Garcia has a specific interest in determining the differences and similarities between bilingual and bidialectal language learners, as it relates to normal language development and differential diagnosis of disorder. Recent projects include collaborations with Dr. Lisa Bedore in the HABLA Lab with the TELL Project, and contributions to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) as it relates to teaching CSD courses with active learning approaches.

Promoted by the District Department of Education and convened by the Colombian Society of Architects of Bogot D.C. and Cundinamarca, a Public Contest was held in 2013 to select the best design proposal for a School in the town of Fontibn. The architectural firm FP architecture wins the first position of the contest with a proposal that calls: A classroom a patio, a school a large patio. Finally, the school is built and inaugurated at the end of 2017, and selected by the Inter-American Development Bank-IDB as one of the most innovative schools in Latin America, highlighting its integration with the community and creative design applied to a contemporary educational model.

Main idea

In contrast to the traditional schemes of organization of educational facilities, of the corridors of classrooms and corridors on one side, the school La felicidad is conceived under a computer principle that consists of a series of courtyards that articulate each one of the components of the program, functioning as open-air extensions of educational spaces. This makes it possible to take activities outside the classroom and allows their integration with nature.

School organization

The school is organized into four large areas that are arranged around a large central courtyard. On the south side, the primary classrooms are organized on the first level and the secondary ones on the second level. On the north side, with a separate access, the preschool classrooms are located on one level. The school restaurant and the auditorium are located on the western side. On the eastern side, as the representative volume of the whole, is the center of integrated resources, the library and administrative spaces. Part of this block rises from the ground allowing transparency and accessibility to the main courtyard and generating the possibility of integration with the neighborhood.

Contribution to the pedagogical processes

By having patios and terraces of different scales as an extension of educational spaces, students are allowed to have greater contact with natural light, vegetation and open spaces. While the teachers are offered the possibility of performing other non-habitual pedagogical activities such as the cultivation of kitchen gardens or outdoor group work. The courtyards of various scales (courtyards, playgrounds and the main courtyard) are conceived as spaces for democratic life, allowing the meeting and recognition between students and teachers as part of an academic community, and in a sense wider, as citizens.

Technical and economic feasibility

We propose a structure in two-level porticoes in concrete and a reduced palette of materials: exposed brick walls, cobbled floors and stoneware, tempered clear glass windows and anodized gray aluminum, steel pipe for handrails and grilles. All resistant materials, low maintenance and low cost that do not require specialized labor.

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