The silhouette of this amazing school in Paredes, Portugal appears so simple you may think a child’s drawing of a ‘big building’ or a city skyline was the blueprint. At first glance, the higgledy-piggledy windows and jagged roofline appear random but look more closely and see the beauty in what is actually a careful composition.

Designed by architecture firm Atelier Nuno Lacerda Lopes, the Mouriz school comprises fifteen classrooms and common work and play areas for kindergarten and primary school children.

A commentary on the design of the Mouriz school can be found at Arch Daily – there’s lots there about the playfulness of the design, how the feeling of movement was incorporated and the importance of rhythmic space. Personally, it was the stunning wooden exterior that caught my attention – Australian weatherboards generally run horizontally, so the vertical treatment on the Mouriz school is exceptionally lovely and appealing.

Stark white dominates the interior (let’s hope it stays that way!), with bright pops of colour used in the classrooms. Although there is a trend toward large, multi-purpose learning spaces, I actually like the more intimate, purpose driven spaces at Mouriz.

Find more posts on school and kindergarten architecture here.

(via Arch Daily)