Sforzacosta Preschool – ADC

BDR bureau’s recently completed Sforzacosta Preschool in Macerata, Italy, is designed to foster social interaction and spatial exploration.

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Federico Farinatti, courtesy of BDR bureau

Designed by Turin-based practice BDR bureau, the 530-square-metre preschool forms part of a larger scheme to revitalise an existing education facility in Macerata, Italy. Located on a small constrained plot, the single-storey building includes classrooms, a music workshop, a sensory workshop for exploring smells and tastes, as well as a library. A series of seemingly disjointed volumes connected by a generous pitched roof defines the footprint of the school, while also delineating threshold spaces between the indoor and outdoor spaces.

The plan arrangement of three small independent volumes, housing classrooms, offices, and auxiliary facilities, produces a varied spatial sequence in terms of size and proportion. This arrangement also integrates with the garden through a number of oblique views achieved by changes in the roof section.

The individual learning environments are articulated by a series of carefully controlled transitional junctions. Within these ‘intermediate’ spaces bridging the classrooms, various architectural elements, such as a striking portal, a skylight illuminating a double-height area, or a solitary column, emerge as focal points, inviting exploration and discovery due to their placement and size.

Constructed from timber and recyclable materials, the project has a near-zero energy impact. The façade setback, resulting from the rotation of the volumes, creates generous covered spaces that also contribute to the building’s passive environmental strategy.

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