Before part of the complex was converted to a middle school, this former brick factory dating back to 1908 - an industrial archaeological site in Riccione on Italy’s Adriatic coast - had lain abandoned since the 1970s. The first stage of a wider reconversion project, the new school has 18 class- and special activity rooms, a library - that also doubles as a functions hall - a gym, staff-room and offices.
Posited on delivering bio-sustainability, energy efficiency and thermal insulation, the conversion programme pays meticulous attention to materials and form. Not only a statement of quality restoration, the original architectural elements retained and reinstated are both functional to the architecture and to the new building’s underlying purpose as a school, providing pupils with visible evidence of local industrial history. The new configuration retains the outline and size of the volumes. In deference to the original architecture, brickwork also remains a key feature of the restored building. The solid brick pillars, linear elements, and a large portion of the brickwork on the southwest façade of the large building with its row of distinctive “trefoil” windows have all been preserved and included in the new programme. Inside, the original pillars are cleverly turned into the pivotal points - along with the infill partitions - of the new spatial flexibility. The metal ceiling trusses, on the other hand, underscore the new imprint given to the original complex.
The importance of brick as a historical reference conferring “identity” is also taken up by the sun-shading system. Horizontal “cotto” slats cover large portions of the elevations. Set alongside the original brick
“open-work” segments, they are just as decorative and functional, aesthetically pleasing and at the same time filtering light into the interiors.
The project joins two buildings of the former brickworks: a...
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