Aula

What Aula does

Aula is a Peruvian social enterprise founded in 2015 and headquartered in Lima/Miraflores that uses participatory design and architecture as a vehicle to improve educational infrastructure in low-resource schools. Its core product is the Taller de MiniArquitectos, a workshop program for children ages 8-14 in which students co-design their own learning environments, building cognitive and creative capacities while producing concrete infrastructure proposals. Around this workshop methodology, Aula has executed at least six physical projects including Nube de colores (a recycled plastic bottle solar canopy), 3x1 (an open classroom, library, and staircase combination), Retablo y comedor (educational display and dining furniture), Centro de desarrollo familiar (a family development center for TANI), Camino seguro al cole (a municipal safe-routes-to-school project with Municipalidad de Miraflores), and Patio Vivo (a heritage public-space activation in Lima's historic center). Notable technical components include the use of low-cost and recycled materials (over 5,000 plastic bottles in the Nube de colores project) and participatory co-design processes involving students, parents, teachers, and community members.

The business model is project-based social enterprise funding rather than commercial product sales. Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed but are described as flowing from grants, donations, and partnerships with private companies, academic institutions (PUCP DARS/FAU), NGOs (Crea+ Perú, TANI, Ocupa tu Calle), and municipal government (Municipalidad de Miraflores). The organization has 1-10 employees (six named individuals on the core team) and operates across districts including Callao, Villa el Salvador, Chincha (Ica), San Juan de Lurigancho, Miraflores, and Lima's historic center. Aula's go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on participatory workshops, academic forums (V Seminario Internacional STEAM, III Foro Internacional de Intervenciones Urbanas), community festivals, and earned media such as its 2018 selection for exhibition at the LUDANTIA Primera Bienal de Arquitectura para la Educación y la Infancia in Pontevedra, Spain. No external funding rounds, parent company, or institutional investors are identified; the organization appears bootstrapped and founder-owned.

Name

Aula

Legal name

Aula

Website

https://aulaperu.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aula is a Peruvian social enterprise founded in 2015 that uses participatory design and architecture to co-create improved educational spaces in low-resource public schools, primarily serving children ages 8-14 through the Taller de MiniArquitectos workshop and bespoke infrastructure projects across multiple Peruvian districts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Infrastructure Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Access & Quality (International Development) (BPAGABAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Center Education Programs (EDAAAFAB)

Keywords

• Participatory design services
• School infrastructure projects
• Educational space design
• Architecture education workshops
• Social enterprise consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Miraflores

HQ country

Peru

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Project-based social work: The organization operates as a social enterprise that works with educational communities and private companies to fund and implement school improvement projects. Revenue appears to come from grants, donations, and partnerships with organizations rather than product sales.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Aula is a social enterprise that delivers participatory design and implementation services to improve and co-create educational spaces in low-resource public schools in Peru. Its core offering is the Taller de MiniArquitectos workshop program — which uses architecture as a teaching tool for children ages 8-14 — combined with the delivery of school infrastructure projects such as solar canopies, multi-functional learning spaces, family development centers, and safe school routes. Services are funded through grants, donations, and partnerships with private companies, government bodies, and academic institutions.

Product overview

Aula is a social enterprise that operates as a single, unified service offering focused on improving and co-creating educational spaces for children in Peru. The core offering is the Taller de MiniArquitectos (MiniArchitects Workshop), a participatory design program where children develop cognitive and creative skills through architecture. This workshop program is complemented by multiple physical infrastructure projects including Nube de colores, Retablo y comedor, 3x1: Aula + Biblioteca + Escalera, Centro de desarrollo familiar, Camino seguro al cole, and Patio Vivo. All projects share a common approach of participatory design involving students, families, and communities to transform school environments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MiniArquitectos: Workshop program that uses architecture as a teaching tool to help students develop cognitive, creative, and exploration skills while imagining and proposing ideal and unconventional spaces linked to their identity and learning about the common good.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5,000 recycled plastic bottles used in Nube de colores project
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Equidad Para la Educación, Lima Cómo Vamos, Ocupa tu calleminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Co-hosts of the webinar on childhood 'Monitoreo local del bienestar y las inequidades de la infancia' held at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.
• Instituto ApoyominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Organizer of the V Seminario Internacional STEAM where Aula presented the workshop 'Introducción a los Espacios Educativos' for educators.
• Municipalidad de MirafloresminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Municipal government partnership for the Camino seguro al cole citizen participation project in the Santa Cruz neighborhood of Miraflores district.
• Ocupa tu CalleminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partner organization for the Camino seguro al cole project, contributing to citizen participation initiatives in school route improvement.
• Lima Como VamosminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Co-organizer of the III Foro Internacional de Intervenciones Urbanas where Aula presented the Camino Seguro al Cole project.
• TANI - Asociación Taller de los NiñosminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Client partnership for the Centro de desarrollo familiar project. TANI is a community association for which Aula is designing new family development center facilities in San Juan de Lurigancho.
• DARS-PUCP / FAU-PUCPminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Academic partnership with the Department of Architecture (DARS) and Faculty of Architecture (FAU) at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú for the Retablo y comedor project at Juan Velasco Alvarado school in Chincha.
• SRK Consulting + Marc SamaniegominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Technical and professional support partnership for the 3x1 Aula + Biblioteca + Escalera project at IIEE Villa de Jesús in Villa el Salvador.
• Crea+ PerúminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Partner organization for the Nube de colores project at Institution Educativa San Miguel Arcángel – COPRODELI in Callao. Crea+ Perú contributed to the participatory design and implementation of the recycled bottle solar coverage project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• MASS Design Group: US-based nonprofit architecture practice that designs buildings and infrastructure for social impact, including schools and public institutions, using participatory design processes - directly comparable to Aula's community-led, education-focused architecture model.
• IDEO.org: Nonprofit design firm applying human-centered, participatory design to poverty and education challenges - conceptually adjacent to Aula's child-led, participatory design workshops for school improvement.
• Article 25: UK-registered charity that delivers architectural projects for communities in the developing world, including schools. Comparable to Aula in using design-and-build as a lever for educational outcomes in low-resource areas.
• Design for America: US nonprofit network of university studios using design to address community and education challenges, sharing Aula's emphasis on participation, learning environments and social impact through design.
• Arquitectura Sin Fronteras: International NGO that undertakes architecture and urbanism projects for vulnerable communities in Latin America and beyond, mirroring Aula's mission of using design as a tool for social and educational development in low-resource contexts.

Broad incumbents

• Room to Read: Global nonprofit focused on literacy and girls' education in the developing world, including school infrastructure and learning materials. A broader incumbent addressing similar educational outcomes across more geographies than Aula.
• UNICEF Peru: UN agency that funds and implements child-welfare and education programs in Peru, serving as a broader incumbent and potential partner/funder in the same operating geography as Aula.

Regional players

• World Vision Peru: Peru office of a global child-focused NGO running sponsorship and education programs in low-income districts where Aula also operates - comparable region, overlapping beneficiary communities, broader program scope.

Others

• PRONIED - Programa Nacional de Infraestructura Educativa: Peruvian Ministry of Education unit responsible for school infrastructure investment, where co-founder Eduardo Peláez previously served as director. A key stakeholder/funder ecosystem participant rather than a competitor, but central to Aula's operating environment.

Emerging players

• Glasswing International: Latin America-focused nonprofit operating safe schools, STEM, and community programs in Central America - partial overlap with Aula in education and community engagement, though serving a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AULAPERU.org/?ref=br_rs
• Instagraminstagram.com/aula.pe?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aulaperu-espacios-para-el-aprendizaje

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aula