Following the 2012 earthquake that struck Emilia Romagna, a competition was announced to rebuild a destroyed school gymnasium in Massa Finalese. The site, which is located in the northeast side of a school park, is the border between the urban area and the country side, suggesting that the new building act as a “connecting tool” between these two realities. The main focus is to create a structure that is able to soften the urban/country “boundary” and to characterize the whole of the school park as well.
A new identity blooms through its contemporary design, contributing itself toward a new local architectural language for the post-earthquake restart. From the ruins of the destruction the new gymnasium is born, a landmark where new generations can train and lay the foundations for a better future.
The building is extremely simple: a pure volume, almost monolithic, with a large single opening that allows for views toward the cultivated fields from the spectators’ seats and from the playing field.
The ancillary spaces, extremely introspective, look out onto a tree-lined patio. The natural elements are the main actors and play their part in the gymnasium: trees are hugged by the building and become the backdrop of the interior spaces, while the cultivated fields, like a painting, are the scenery of the playing field.
The problematic social conditions determined by the dramatic effects caused by the earthquake, and the demands of the competition which required fast construction time and a very low construction cost, have decisively influenced the design choices: a particularly dry construction technology is chosen in order to build up the whole building in only five months with a low construction cost, while ensuring the achievement of high energy performance.
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