School 42

A free programming school where students choose their own curriculum and progress through modules. Without teachers, books, or issuing diplomas, Escola 42 is a French institution with a collaborative teaching method, where students evaluate each other's work, always in group activities. In 2019, 42 São Paulo (as it is known) arrived in Brazil and set up shop in Vila Madalena, São Paulo, with a Superlimão project. With these characteristics, the architectural design needed to be efficient, attractive, and meet the technical and visual needs so that the audience – made up of people 18 and older – could be immersed in its universe and teaching method. The result is a contemporary project, whose program is divided into four spaces – one for events and the other three with programming rooms (with different layouts) – in an area of 900m2. Just as 42 took inspiration from the science fiction film "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by English author Douglas Adams to choose its name, and to define the colors, materials, and finishes of the school's spaces, the architecture also drew inspiration from the high-tech universe of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, such as Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." The still-empty, unused slab was rebuilt throughout, measuring a long, narrow 40x4m. The central core consists of a pantry and IT areas, while the remaining spaces are used for meeting rooms, staff, programming, and events. There is also a covered/outdoor area for relaxation. The furniture was developed by Superlimão to meet an atypical accommodation need, hence the choice of lightweight furniture with casters for easy movement and crates for use in special events within the space. The ceiling is made of treated mineralized wood. acoustic and engineered cellulose and a color palette was developed especially for application in the project, which has the relaxed feel present in the metalwork and its visual communication.