Aleph Zero and Marcelo Rosenbaum are competing for the RIBA Prize

The Royal Institute of British Architects, RIBA, has announced its list of finalists for the 2018 award. With representatives from 28 countries, the goal is to choose “the best building in the world”. Among the finalists are the two children's homes that the Brazilian Marcelo Rosenbaum and Aleph Zero designed the houses for the rural area of Formoso do Araguaia, a municipality located 320 km from Palmas, in Tocantins. The houses are the only South American project to be shortlisted.

The buildings house a boarding school, where 540 students study and live. In addition to its aesthetics, what stands out and sets the project apart is the active participation of its occupants, the children, teachers and school staff, in its design.

The new schools have a wooden structure and several elements, such as the roof and large pavilions, which are reminiscent of huts; cement bricks arranged to form cobogós allude to the settlements.