LANGUAGE ACADEMY

El Buzo Inglés is an unconventional and disruptive language academy. It offers total immersion in language learning through an award-winning educational approach recognized for its strong commitment to sustainability. The academy promotes values such as environmental awareness, marine conservation, and the responsible use of natural resources.
Vitale has conceived a space that embodies the brand universe through an inspiring and cohesive interior: diving, exploration, and the preservation of aquatic ecosystems. Guided by the concept of “The Learning Journey”, the project immerses users in a language-learning experience that extends beyond the classroom, tapping into the imagination of underwater exploration and ecological consciousness.
The brand narrative comes to life through an immersive interior design. The marine world serves as inspiration, expressed through a vibrant color palette led by coral (the brand's corporate color) and a range of ocean blues. The scenographic approach reinforces the academy’s educational mission: to inspire, transform, and connect students not only with language but with the importance of caring for marine environments.
The academy had been operating for several years under a franchised identity. The educational schedule required that the fit-out and renovation be executed within the limited timeframe of the holiday period. The intervention needed to be respectful of the existing infrastructure, highly efficient, and cost-effective.
The premises comprise a total of 195 sqm, carefully distributed to meet a comprehensive program of requirements: reception area with waiting space, reprographics area, management office, six classrooms, public restroom, staff kitchenette, and changing room.
The spatial layout is anchored by the reception area, which serves as the origin point for the circulation corridor leading to the classrooms. The waiting area and front desk are envisioned as bright, cheerful, and motivating spaces. The design opens up to the exterior and draws formal references from a ship’s deck. Around a structural pillar near the entrance, a volumetric feature conceals the server and reprographics area. This element becomes a focal point, painted with the iconic striped pattern of lighthouses, acting as a landmark and visual reference throughout the space.
A series of circular, blue-tinted Windows (reminiscent of classic nautical portholes) add rhythm to the passageways and enhance visual connection with the classrooms. This solution, on one hand, improves the spatial quality of classrooms lacking external windows, and on the other, creates the feeling of observing an underwater world.
The interior classrooms are conceived as distinct marine microcosms (each with its own unique chromatic identity) providing sensorially stimulating environments. Desaturated curtains, softly illuminated by indirect lighting, create a calm atmosphere conducive to concentration. The worktables are lit by three large-scale cylindrical lamps, custom-designed for the project and inspired by the smokestacks of iconic 20th-century ocean liners. On ships, these elements symbolized the identity of the shipping Company, here, they define the academy’s unique character.
Classrooms facing the exterior are filled with natural light and openly express the academy’s identity. The children’s classroom recreates an aquarium scene with colorful methacrylate jellyfish suspended overhead. A backlit ceiling casts soft silhouettes that mimic the movement of jellyfish near the ocean’s surface.
The academy’s chairs (Love model by Vondom) are made from recycled plastics sourced from the Mediterranean Sea, reinforcing a positive environmental impact.
The result is a space of total immersion into the brand’s narrative universe. A project that clearly and effectively communicates the academy’s personality and its commitment to marine conservation. A space full of clever references for adult users and rich in sensory experiences for younger learners. This interior design project successfully translates corporate strategy into a physical environment that encourages a joyful, active, and responsible attitude toward learning.