The concept draws inspiration from a powerful idea articulated by Louis I. Kahn in a memorable speech: “Schools began with a man under a tree, who did not know he was a teacher, and who shared what he had understood with others, who did not know they were students. The students reflected on the exchange of ideas among them and thought it was wonderful to be in the presence of that man (…) Soon, the necessary spaces were erected, and the first schools appeared.” The project is a reflection on the primordial educational space conceived as a place for the development of the reciprocal relationship between student and teacher. The rediscovery of the purity of this relationship is the core of the project: the man and the students under a tree.
The school’s design has been adapted to the organic layout of the park, striving to preserve as many existing tree species as possible. This consideration has resulted in a complex site plan, where courtyards embracing greenery intersect with the enclosed spaces of the school, creating a continuous interplay between interior environments and the park’s green vistas. The building's sinuous angles, green cladding, green roof, and vertical green screens are all compositional strategies aimed at achieving a seamless integration between the landscape and the building, promoting a visual and functional harmony that encourages proactive environmental behavior.
The educational goal of the school is to promote "active pedagogy" in fostering a strong and motivated environmental consciousness. To this end, an explanatory system has been designed in the hall to monitor and communicate to students the electricity production from renewable sources and the corresponding CO2 savings. The energy design of the building envelope and systems aims to achieve NZEB (Nearly Zero-Energy Building) certification, particularly regarding the overall energy efficiency requirements and the integration of renewable energy sources. This includes the installation of a hybrid photovoltaic field capable of generating both electrical and thermal energy with greater efficiency than separate solar energy systems.
The building is a lower secondary school. The Municipality decided to construct the building next to an existing school, which will be demolished to expand the park. The Municipality and the neighborhood requested the creation of a complex that would be open to the needs of the citizens, accommodating public functions alongside educational requirements. The educational project thus envisioned the construction of a cloverleaf-like structure, where each petal is dedicated to a function that can also be independently used by the community. Due to this configuration, the school has been nicknamed "Four-leaf Clover". Each of the four leaves is designated for a specific use: exclusively educational for the school, mixed educational use for evening classes, cafeteria spaces and an auditorium-library for both the school and the neighborhood, and finally, a gymnasium for the school and the community. During the morning, the school utilizes all available spaces through the central connective area, while in the afternoon and evening, each of the four leaves operates independently to serve a particular community need. This distribution layout also fosters a significant and direct relationship among students, who can continuously observe the activities of their peers in adjacent modules, promoting a constant interplay between individual and community. This dynamic aims to develop a heightened sensitivity to relationships and a sense of belonging to a common space of positive interactions.
Mayor Matteo Lepore: "The Quattrofoglie (Four-leaf Clover) School will be a school open to the entire neighborhood. There will be afternoon and evening courses for adults, institutional meetings, and courses aimed at the neighborhood, as well as many extracurricular activities for the local youth. This project will allow for spaces to be used by citizens at all hours of the day, serving as a true hub of social interaction.”
TECO+ partners is an architectural firm based in Bologna, consisting of 6 senior partners and a team of 30 collaborators, architects, civil engineers, designers.
The firm designs residential, scholastic and sports buildings and complexes, as well as offices and productive establishments in Italy and abroad.
The environmental quality of projects arises from study and experience of techniques for the use of renewable energies, bio-architecture construction systems, biocompatible materials and passive climate control.
Designing a school is always an exciting challenge. Often we are to deal with stringent regulations that limit the way in which we can plan the spaces, and challenging themes such as how to design buildings that are closed, safe at the same time open. The firm designed 46 schools, taking into account a wide range of educational requirements: kindergartens, infant schools, elementary schools, primary and secondary schools, professional institutes and university structures.