Type of project
School Building
Year
2013
Tag
Uglass Cement Resin Landscape Glass Geometry Repoussage and Chasing Iconic
Mentions
DOMUS N.855
CASABELLA N.764
SPAZIO E FORMAZIONE
Photographers
Pietro Savorelli
Status
Completed
Location
Sinalunga (SI), Italy
“La Balena” kindergarten, in Sinalunga, gets its name from a Pliocene fossil of a cetacean skeleton measuring over eight metres long, which was uncovered during excavations. A surprise discovery in the Tuscan landscape. This is how Marco Mulazzani describes the school in Edition no. 861 of “Casabella” magazine. After being awarded the contract, we followed a design that satisfied the project’s functional requirements, inserting six sections (for approximately one hundred and fifty children) with their associated services, a canteen and a covered courtyard for outdoor activities, organised on one level. All the classrooms overlook the courtyard, which has a deciduous tree that marks the seasons throughout the year. The kindergarten is situated between two streets, and features a building that is partially embedded in the ground, creating a significant variation in height. The elevation ends at the upper street level so as not to obstruct the view towards the Val di Chiana, and a square above the canteen knits together the pre-existing urban fabric with a new connecting pathway. The whole building is constructed in exposed concrete with continuous glass surfaces for a view of the playground and south-east and south-west sections. The cantilevered multipurpose room above the school is an exception, featuring a metal structure with U-Glass profiled cladding. It transforms into a public lantern in the evening.
