MOVA Teacher Innovation Center | OPUS

The MOVA Teacher Innovation Center, initiated by the Secretaria de Educación de Medellín, aims to elevate the standard of public education by bolstering comprehensive teacher training. Serving as a hub for meetings, training sessions, and professional development, it stands as a testament to collaborative efforts across various sectors. This center is the outcome of a transdisciplinary design process involving both public and private entities alongside the educational community, emphasizing a collective approach to enhancing teaching practices.

MOVA Teacher Innovation Center’s Volumes Strategy

The MOVA Teacher Innovation Center adopts a strategy of distinct volumes elevated on pillars and linked by bridges, effectively blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor spaces, allowing for the appreciation of climate and landscape. This innovative approach also repurposes an existing parking lot area, providing a valuable addition to the city’s urban fabric. The integration of new vegetation plays a crucial role in shaping the environment, enhancing connectivity, and contributing to the development of a key ecological node within the city.

Architects tasked with creating a building with unique educational functions will join a transdisciplinary team for the MOVA Teacher Innovation Center. This team collaborates to develop pedagogical content and academic experiences, translating discussions into tangible, functional spaces. The center’s design emerges from collaborative efforts involving teachers, public and private institutions, and social and professional organizations, highlighting a collective approach to innovation in educational architecture.

Throughout the design phase, active engagement with teachers was prioritized to promote and implement the MOVA Teacher Innovation Center’s pedagogical model. This involved organizing events like the Mova camp, appropriation workshops, and Mova Mobile, among others. These initiatives aimed to shape the narrative surrounding the project, laying the groundwork for constructing the physical space.

Mova is part of the Medellin Innovation District, a 160-hectare urban transformation space focused on scientific, technological, and new knowledge-based business development. In this context, interaction with processes and organizations such as the Universidad de Antioquia, Parque Explora, RutaN, and Parque Norte is promoted, searching to consolidate an educational and cultural environment. Additionally, within a strategic ecological node, actions are coordinated with the Jardin Botanico, connecting to the Medellin River, the campuses of the Universidad Nacional and the Universidad de Antioquia, and Cerro el Volador through landscape and vegetation design strategies.

 

A structure has been erected atop the existing parking lot, raised on pillars, and comprised of interconnected volumes linked by bridges. This design fosters the creation of courtyards and gaps where trees can thrive. Inspired by the spatial layout of the University of Antioquia campus, this approach serves five key objectives:

• Repurposing a previously underutilized space within the city.
• Activating public areas by introducing new amenities such as a café and auditorium.
• Energizing the streetscape with vibrant activities.

This innovative design embodies the MOVA Teacher Innovation Center’s vision and mission.

The MOVA Teacher Innovation Center frames the picturesque landscape of Parque Norte and the slopes of the Valle de Aburrá. It achieves this by strategically blurring the distinction between indoor and outdoor spaces using thresholds, lattices, bridges, and terraces. Integrating architecture and vegetation as interconnected components of the same spatial system is a defining feature of the center’s design philosophy. Furthermore, thanks to adherence to high design and construction standards, the building has earned LEED certification, attaining the prestigious gold category. This accomplishment underscores the MOVA Teacher Innovation Center’s commitment to sustainability and excellence.

Project Info:
Architects: OPUS
Area: 7000 m²
Year: 2018
Photographs: Isaac Ramirez
Manufacturers:  Arkos, Cimbrados
Project Management: Manuel José Jaén Posada, Carlos Andrés Betancur Cifuentes, Carlos David Montoya Valencia
Architectural Coordination: Juan Sebastián Restrepo Aguirre
Team: Arq. Juliana Isaza Romero Arq. Carlos Alberto Cano Bedoya Arq. Eugenia Zoubtchenko Arq. Germán Tamayo Arq. Daniel Miranda Muñoz Arq. Mateo Marín Mejía Arq. Natalia Mena Parra Arq. Diana Castillo Naranjo Arq. Catherine Pérez Cuartas Est. Arq. Manuela Salazar Villegas Est. Arq. Sara Olier Brome
Contracting Entity / Promoter: Secretaría de Educación Medellín y Corporación Parque Explora
Expolora Park Design Team: Jose Augusto Ocampo, Santiago Arango, Sara Rumié, Alejandro Villegas
Interior Design: Corporación Parque Explora
City: Medellín
Country: Colombia