When the School Becomes the City: Community-Centered Projects in the Global South | ArchDaily

Save this picture!Instituição Educacional La Samaria / Campuzano Arquitectos © Gabriel CampuzanoWritten by Camilla Ghisleni | Translated by Diogo SimõesPublished on March 02, 2026 Share ShareFacebookTwitterMailPinterestWhatsappOrhttps://www.archdaily.com/1038975/when-the-school-becomes-the-city-community-centered-projects-in-the-global-south Clipboard "COPY" CopyEducation and culture have long been established as strategic pillars for promoting profound social transformation. In this context, the quality of physical infrastructure is not merely a functional concern, but a structural element in the implementation of consistent public policies — especially in territories marked by urban precarity, historical inequality, and institutional fragility. Within this framework, school architecture can assume a role that extends far beyond the classroom, becoming a catalyst for social transformation.+ 29 Over recent decades, experiences across different contexts have demonstrated that investing in education also means investing in public space, belonging, and citizenship. When conceived as open platforms integrated into the urban fabric, schools begin to operate as multifunctional civic facilities capable of bringing together culture, sports, social interaction, and learning within the same territory.