Castilenti Secondary School

Severely damaged by the earthquake of 6 April 2009, Castilenti’s secondary school was declared unfit for use due to the very serious damage found both in the reinforced concrete structure and in the non-structural elements, such as infill and partition walls.

The original project consisted of repairing the damage and bringing the building up to current codes, but site inspections revealed that the school had deteriorated to the point that it was no longer possible to intervene on the original structure. The costs required to upgrade the structures and building services, which in any case no longer met today’s educational and environmental needs, were deemed unsustainable.

ASDEA S.r.l. acted as lead partner in the design of the new lower secondary school, paying particular attention to both seismic design and sustainability, in order to obtain a highly functional building whose architecture suits the educational needs of the 21st century.

The site chosen for the new school lies just outside the centre of the Municipality of Castilenti. The new school complex is laid out on a single floor with three classrooms for ordinary activities, two classrooms for inter-cycle activities connected by movable partitions, two rooms, one for music and the other for supplementary activities, as well as the toilets and the spaces serving the entire school complex, such as the entrance hall, the plaza, the library, the staff rooms and the areas for auxiliary staff.

As the construction of the school complex is a highly significant initiative for the entire community, the project also includes the overall redevelopment of the school’s outdoor areas, taking into account its urban, architectural and dimensional aspects as well as its social and cultural value.