Description

“Torino fa scuola” is the name of an initiative by the Turin-based Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli in collaboration with the City of Turin and Compagnia di San Paolo to give new architectural-pedagogical impetus to the development of the Italian education system. One of the two school renewals it has initiated is the “Scuola secondaria di primo grado Enrico Fermi” in Piazza Carlo Giacomini in the Nizza Millefonti district, opened in 1965. The school is just three blocks from the FIAT Lingotto plant, which closed in 1982 and – following its conversion into a commercial and cultural centre after a long period of neglect – has driven renewal in this part of Turin. The Turin-based architects BDR bureau were commissioned with the school renewal project. The transformation is so marked that one would be forgiven for wondering, on comparing the before and after situation, whether this was really just a conversion or a wholesale replacement? One sees nothing of the light-coloured exposed concrete frame and brick infill typical of 1960s Italian architecture. Instead, the building is pink throughout. On closer inspection, however, subtle differences in the surface texture do reveal where the old concrete skeleton remains. More striking than its colour, however, are the steel frame constructions in front of the façades that create loggias next to the classrooms that can be used for outdoor lessons.

Perhaps the most significant intervention for the neighbourhood is the relocation of the main entrance to the quiet side street Giulio Biglieri, thereby avoiding the busy Via Genova and the parking-congested Piazza Giacomini. It also connects the school to the local quarter. The library and cafeteria have been placed to the right and left of the main entrance, facing the garden, and these spaces, along with other facilities such as the sports hall adjoining the Via Genova as well as other specialist classrooms, can be used for extra-curricular activities and smaller events after school hours. The school library also serves the municipality.

The pupils also experience the building anew due to the way classes are organised, as this has influenced the spatial structure. The programme, conceived together with the South Tyrolean educational expert Beate Weyland, proposes grouping the earlier classrooms into clusters in which rooms are no longer assigned to class groups but to subjects. The approximately 200 youngsters aged 11 to 14 who attend the school “wander” from one room to the next over the course of the school day.

Originally published in Bauwelt 2.2020, pp. 36-41, abridged and edited for Building Types online, translated by Julian Reisenberger

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