The Gabelli School

Designing a school that is innovative not only in spatial terms, but also epistemologically, means breaking down the concept of school as a mere "container" where lessons are imparted, and proposing, instead, a new concept of school as a "place to inhabit": a stimulating environment where a 360° all-round course of educational formation is experienced and the building is a point of reference for the local community by being embedded in the urban fabric. A school of this type should be innovative in space/time and should not only include dedicated rooms for teaching but also spaces for leisure, eating together, experimenting, and sharing: collective places in which to communicate and relate as well as personal spaces in which to reflect and relax, and ateliers for creating and discovering. This essential role of the environment in the learning experience is well encapsulated in the educationalist Loris Malaguzzi's metaphor of space as "the third educator"; it takes place not only via the adult-child relationship but also as a context (which according to Bronfenbrenner must be ecologically welcoming) and via a multiplicity of cognitive styles (Howard Gardner’s “multiple intelligences”) that must be translated into organised, differentiated, flexible spaces. Depending on how the spaces of a school are configured and their characteristics, they will speak to the children and stimulate them, promoting the integral development of all their faculties and abilities.

Designing a school that is innovative not only in spatial terms, but also epistemologically, means breaking down the concept of school as a mere "container" where lessons are imparted, and proposing, instead, a new concept of school as a "place to inhabit": a stimulating environment where a 360° all-round course of educational formation is experienced and the building is a point of reference for the local community by being embedded in the urban fabric. A school of this type should be innovative in space/time and should not only include dedicated rooms for teaching but also spaces for leisure, eating together, experimenting, and sharing: collective places in which to communicate and relate as well as personal spaces in which to reflect and relax, and ateliers for creating and discovering. This essential role of the environment in the learning experience is well encapsulated in the educationalist Loris Malaguzzi's metaphor of space as "the third educator"; it takes place not only via the adult-child relationship but also as a context (which according to Bronfenbrenner must be ecologically welcoming) and via a multiplicity of cognitive styles (Howard Gardner’s “multiple intelligences”) that must be translated into organised, differentiated, flexible spaces. Depending on how the spaces of a school are configured and their characteristics, they will speak to the children and stimulate them, promoting the integral development of all their faculties and abilities.

In her 1934 Scuola Gabelli project, the famous educationalist Pierina Boranga (who lived here in Belluno), took her inspiration from the Pizzigoni experimental method. But the Gabelli School is not only educationally advanced because of its pedagogy; there is also a link between its teaching method and its spaces. The building was conceived as a subsidiary instrument, an educational tool that incorporated measurements, geometric figures, geographical maps, and a sundial - elements that stimulated the learning process and accompanied the child through the stages of their growth pathway. So this was also an obligatory starting point for designing the new furniture, which had to be integrated with the project and in continuity with it, not as mere elements dropped into the space, but space and architecture in themselves that emphasise the vision to which the project aspires: "space as the third educator".

The project to renovate and upgrade the Scuola Gabelli creates an educational centre for children from 2-10 years old consisting of a primavera (toddlers) section (2-3 years old) for 20 children; a nursery school (3-5 years old) for 70-100 children divided into 4 classrooms; and a primary school (5-10 years old) divided into 2 sections, giving a total of 11 classrooms + 2 special classrooms for 200 - 250 children.

The architectural project arranges the teaching departments along the south frontage of the building with the secondary service spaces on the north side, as per the original plan. In organising the spaces we attempted to reinterpret the original project – which was based on a pedagogical idea that was innovative in 1934 and is still current today – whilst trying to revisit them in a contemporary way, for instance in the large atrium with the entrance agora and the library, which we re-thought in a wider, more accessible way. The kitchen garden/teaching garden is reinterpreted so that it plays a role in the sustainability of the new project, and the laboratory classrooms are re-interpreted in a similar way. Finally, as part of the modifications to the roof, it was possible to create an astronomical observatory at the top floor. The furniture is another important aspect of the spatial innovations in the new project; it has been purpose-designed for particular rooms such as the library, the atrium, and the laboratory classrooms with the maps, which have all been configured as flexible spaces where the educational offer can be diversified, in line with the most innovative pedagogical methods.

The project to renovate and upgrade the Scuola Gabelli creates an educational centre for children from 2-10 years old consisting of a primavera (toddlers) section (2-3 years old) for 20 children; a nursery school (3-5 years old) for 70-100 children divided into 4 classrooms; and a primary school (5-10 years old) divided into 2 sections, giving a total of 11 classrooms + 2 special classrooms for 200 - 250 children.

The architectural project arranges the teaching departments along the south frontage of the building with the secondary service spaces on the north side, as per the original plan. In organising the spaces we attempted to reinterpret the original project – which was based on a pedagogical idea that was innovative in 1934 and is still current today – whilst trying to revisit them in a contemporary way, for instance in the large atrium with the entrance agora and the library, which we re-thought in a wider, more accessible way. The kitchen garden/teaching garden is reinterpreted so that it plays a role in the sustainability of the new project, and the laboratory classrooms are re-interpreted in a similar way. Finally, as part of the modifications to the roof, it was possible to create an astronomical observatory at the top floor. The furniture is another important aspect of the spatial innovations in the new project; it has been purpose-designed for particular rooms such as the library, the atrium, and the laboratory classrooms with the maps, which have all been configured as flexible spaces where the educational offer can be diversified, in line with the most innovative pedagogical methods.

Since this is a listed building of historic/artistic significance, the upgrade works were targeted as precisely as possible. To improve the internal comfort and minimise energy consumption, the first strategic design decision was to insulate the fabric but applying the insulation internally to conserve the stone base and the small projecting and receding elements on the elevations. In terms of the architectural form of the building, a second decision that guided the design was to restore it back to its original appearance by removing as many as possible of the deleterious elements that had been added at later times and had limited its functionality, as in the case of opening up the skylights, which now contribute to the environmental comfort of the teaching spaces. The original windows were restored and retained, and some later non-original windows were replaced with new timber versions designed to match the originals.

Aside from sustainability in a strictly environmental sense, at the initial design stage there was also a social form of sustainability: in collaboration with the school committee, the local community was actively involved in a participatory design process. This was a way to give the school back to Belluno and its townspeople, whilst also giving it a new image and transforming it as a model for other future schools.

Aside from sustainability in a strictly environmental sense, at the initial design stage there was also a social form of sustainability: in collaboration with the school committee, the local community was actively involved in a participatory design process. This was a way to give the school back to Belluno and its townspeople, whilst also giving it a new image and transforming it as a model for other future schools.