A zero-maintenance iconic architecture through shapes and volumes, which was to be welcoming and in dialogue with the existing urban fabric: this is “Rita Levi Montalcini” primary school designed by Settanta7 in Porto Potenza Picena (Italy).
The school is a C shape building distributed over two levels, with an internal courtyard to be designated as a playground for outdoor recess.
The volumes of the building show compact facades, with rhythmic wide and narrow openings that facing the internal courtyard, allowing a direct connection to the garden, thought up as an open air lab.
The connective space has been designed as a place for the colder season, with areas of inter-cycle activities, created for pedagogical activities. In the southeast and in the southwest, the two “agora” incorporate the wooden staircases and can be used for small group activities and for individual study.
The classrooms can hold up to 600 students divided into 24 classes and are organized along the two east and west branches, so as to guarantee and optimal orientation, whereas the gym, the cafeteria and the auditorium are situated in the north; both the classrooms and the auditorium are coated with sound-absorbent panelling.
The gym and auditorium are spaces open to the city, exploitable by external users through separate external accesses: the whole northern branch is potentially “separable” from the school and can be used 24/7 by the community.
The external covering is in Zintek titanium zinc, a sustainable material. All materials, like celenit, linoleum, xlam and laminated wood are environmentally friendly and natural and make the building comfortable, healthy and with low-energy consumption, following the principles of bioclimatic architecture.
The construction technology used for the wooden structure allowed to realize a large, compact and light wooden structure, with excellent mechanical and thermal and acoustic isolation properties, and great benefits connected to comfort and well-being of spaces, in a very short time.
Finally, the client has chosen the project of “Rita Levi Montalcini” primary school to be the first part of a large comprehensive scholastic pole, comprising of secondary school (which is being designed) and kindergarten.
