The story
A new gathering space allows an existing building to become a school.
In La Yaguita del Pastor, a barrio on the outskirts of Santiago, Santiago Christian School proposed a modest sequence of changes rather than an entirely separate campus. A new church and community gathering space would release the existing facility for use as a preschool and after-school program, expanding educational access while preserving a building the neighborhood already knows. The strategy responds to constrained infrastructure and limited household resources by making each construction investment do more than one job.
Worship, meetings, early learning, and support for older children can occupy complementary schedules, allowing the site to remain active throughout the week. The project remains an early school proposal. Its strength is adaptive planning: one carefully placed addition can reorganize existing space and create lasting room for both community life and children’s education.