Alicante. How to renovate a school with less than 1,300 euros

With just £1,000 Benni Allan, from London-based studio EBBA Architects – formerly estudio b – facelifted his old primary school in Alicante, using local low-budget materials and the help of his architecture students. Its prefabricated character is given by the fact the school sits on agricultural land, meaning that – according to Spanish law – any new building has to be classified as temporary.

La Falda (meaning “the skirt”) is a self-built cladding system of corrugated tiles made of bitumen panels, fitted to a lightweight aluminum frame. The undulating forms and mural pattern references the terracotta tiles used in the region and the color palette of southern Spain. The system is commonly used on warehouses and farm buildings as the material can be easily shaped and painted, while being easy to maintain. To give a special visual twist Allan opted a color gradient that darkens from floor to ceiling.