Primary School, Piano di Sorrento, Naples

Design competition – second prize

The school is an ensemble of distinct and recognisable buildings.
They are built back from the street so as to create a new ‘piazza’, a square. This new public space is the school’s urban extension, a sign of the opening of the new school to a new concept, i.e. a place for aggregation and contact with the community.
The auditorium, cafeteria and gymnasium can be used independently, without interfering with classroom activities. The gymnasium is set one meter into the ground and is visible through the large windows.
All of the classrooms are located in a block in the more sheltered area of the lot. The floor plan of this building is U-shaped and encloses a large open patio. At the centre, a wide stairway with large steps acts as the junction between the two floors of classrooms as well as main hall and as the space for recreation and congregation.
The classrooms are not the traditional large rectangular rooms aligned along corridors, but more open and basically L-shaped so as to allow for the contemporary performance of various activities. The distribution pathways have widenings that are used for non-formal teaching moments for small groups.