Located north of the old town, the Institute and its facilities occupy an entire block, enclosed by a solid hedge wall and pillars of bush-hammered ashlars with a worked brick cornice, which serves as the base for an iron railing decorated with iron basket panels. The large main building is U-shaped, with tiled roofs, enclosing a protected space with a skylight. It has three floors, each with a different façade, although symmetry is maintained: the ground floor, with a stone plinth and stuccoed upper section, with a frieze of semicircular arched windows; the central section, separated by prominent brick string courses, with another exposed brick frieze and vertical rectangular windows; and the upper section, with stuccoed walls, where the smaller windows are grouped in threes in semicircular arches. The main doorway, with a round arch, is located in a central section facing Carretera de Manresa, and is emphasised by a balcony above, with a curved balustrade and a round vault as a dust cover, and a gabled gable with a central oculus crowned by a wavy cornice. Above the balcony is a coat of arms of Igualada flanked by two children, the work of the sculptor and sgraffito artist Ferran Serra (Ferdinandus Serra).

Jaume Garcia Fossas was a playing card manufacturer in Igualada alongside his brother Artur. Both provided financial assistance for the construction of the Conservatory of Music, the Ateneu Igualadí School and the Secondary School building (now the Àuria School), which bore their surnames.

Mr Artur Garcia-Fossas bought some land in 1927 to build the Igualada Orphanage. The building cost around 300,000 pesetas and was designed by the architect Bonaventura Bassegoda i Amigó, with Pere Vilarrúbies as the contractor. However, the building was never used for its intended purpose and ended up becoming a primary school, which is still in operation today under the name CEIP Garcia Fossas. Construction of the building began in 1932 and was completed in May 1937. The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War meant that it did not open until years later, but it was finally inaugurated on 3 May 1941. During the war, the building was used as a hospital and an air-raid shelter was built, which is still preserved today.
The building has three floors, the first of which was used for teaching boys (with male teachers). The second floor was used for teaching girls, with female teachers.

Over time, it has also had other complementary uses: the Igualada Museum and the Leather Museum.

Currently, apart from the CEIP, there is also the La Lluna nursery and the Anoia CRP.