Architetti PAlermo
Project name: A School in Mondello
Typology: Scholastic building
Location: Palermo
Year: 2017
Surface: 7200 smq
Client: Palermo Town
A School in Mondello
​
​
The Palermo city council launched an international competition for the “construction of an innovative scholastic institute” in the northern part of the city, within the seaside neighborhood of Mondello.
General plan
The project concept came out of the pedagogic theory of “learning by playing”, which overcomes the idea of didactic hierarchy and instead promotes the idea of a school prepared for collaboration and critical thought. The school’s space thus becomes sites of educational growth.
Concept
The project arose around a playful collective space containing four organically developed buildings connected by a central square, an “agora”. This latter section was imagined as a space that can host temporary displays and structures. The entrances were designed as optic cones that connect the school to the park, while the park itself was designed according to the existing treescape and enriched with sporting equipment immersed within the natural environment.
The planimetric arrangement takes account of different functional aspects of the various activities, allowing the possibility to use the cultural spaces and meeting points outside of school hours.
​
The ground floor contains three classrooms and the washrooms, while the first floor hosts the music lab and library. The buildings have suspended green roofs that provides a high level of environmental integration of the forms, above all improving energetic efficiency.