Araucanía is one of Chile’s poorest and most sparsely populated regions, repeatedly shaken by long-running ethnic conflict. The Mapuche, the region’s Indigenous people, have fought for land rights and regional autonomy since the 19th century – first against settlers, later against major corporations and the Chilean state. Tensions continue to flare, at times violently.
Against this backdrop, the central government in Santiago has sought to strengthen education in Araucanía as a means of fostering social stability. In 2016, a design competition was launched for eight new village schools. Cristián Larraín and his practice CLAAP, together with Duque Motta & Arquitectos Asociados, won the commission for four of them. Two have been completed to date: the school in Pivadenco opened in 2022 in the hills north of Los Sauces, followed two years later by the smaller school in Paillaleo, situated on the plain south of the town.
Small schools, broad impact
The conditions in Araucanía differ fundamentally from those of urban schools in central Europe. Students often travel considerable distances from scattered settlements, arriving by bus and spending most of the day on the school grounds. Each school accommodates between 10 and 25 children aged eight to fifteen. Because the surrounding communities lack places to gather, the design team decided the schools should also function as civic centres for the neighbouring villages. Although the single-storey buildings vary in footprint and location, each follows a consistent architectural strategy. Classrooms and staff rooms face north to capture the midday sun, while ancillary spaces line the closed southern facade. At the heart of every school is a generous hall that spans the full depth of the building. Here the architects combined all the communal functions prescribed in the competition brief: entrance, circulation, sheltered courtyard, dining hall, and sports area. After school hours, the hall is open to adults for community festivals and civic meetings. The adjoining rooms can be opened to the central space via sliding doors.
Light, Air, Community
Despite their shared concept, each school has its own architectural character. This is largely shaped by the roof: the side wings rise gently, while the central hall expands upward into a sequence of expressive north-facing rooflights designed to draw in the low winter sun. Deep overhangs shade the glazing in summer. An important element are the operable windows on the western side of the roof to harness the prevailing winds, allowing the rooflights to support natural ventilation. The orientation of the halls – some running east west, others northsouth – adds another layer of formal complexity to the roof structure. The roof trusses are made from glue laminated (glulam) Monterey pine, the region’s primary plantation timber, widely cultivated in Araucanía. The rest of the construction relies on prefabricated wood-based elements: self-supporting structural insulated panels for the roof, and a timber-frame wall system with brown-stained thermowood cladding for the closed facades. One conspicuous exception is a cast-in-place concrete wall clad in volcanic stone that runs lengthwise through the hall. It acts as a thermal buffer, storing the heat of the midday sun and releasing it overnight. The buildings in Pivadenco and Paillaleo show how social purpose, climate literacy, and architectural presence can work hand in hand. One can only hope that Cristián Larrain and Rodrigo Duque Motta, together with their teams, will soon be able to complete the remaining two schools in Melipeuco, at the southern edge of Araucanía. For now, disagreements between the Chilean Ministry of Education and the local authorities are delaying the start of construction.
