Luca Peralta's competition winning design for new kindergarten and school in Bari
'Mother Earth' is the winning design competition entry for a kindergarten school and connected public spaces that will be built in Bisceglie, south Italy. The project, commissioned by the local municipality and sponsored by the Department of Architecture and Landscape of the Italian Ministry of Culture, is expected to be completed in July 2011. The competition winner, Luca Peralta Studio, will lead all project design phases and direction of the construction site.
The architectural design emphasises a plan diagram that is strongly characterised by a striated organisation, alternating indoor 'served' and 'servant' spaces defined by parallel walls. This striated system is intersected by a fluid one to define an outdoor and completely enclosed courtyard that functions as a safe playground space for the young children. This space is wrapped with a glazed corridor which is the building's primary circulation that 'knots' and connects all its functional programs.
The project strives to evoke a deep, metaphorical and aesthetic relationship with Mother Earth. The central playground courtyard re-establishes the typical natural landscape of the region using native plants / trees to educate children of their regional environment. Meanwhile, the perimeter outdoor spaces incorporate vegetable gardens and small orchards where children can learn how traditional local foods are cultivated. An Ecologic message that integrates environmental education into everyday experiences using the innovative design of gardens. These function as outdoor classrooms that encourage discovery through multi-sensorial experiences: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.
The project's connection to Mother Earth is reinforced through environmentally sensitive design. Passive systems are optimised in order to reduce the need for active ones. Overall building carbon footprint and energy consumption are reduced through the use of renewable source of energy (geothermic heating and photovoltaic energy) as well as the use of recycled and local materials and rainwater collection.
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The architectural design emphasises a plan diagram that is strongly characterised by a striated organisation, alternating indoor 'served' and 'servant' spaces defined by parallel walls. This striated system is intersected by a fluid one to define an outdoor and completely enclosed courtyard that functions as a safe playground space for the young children. This space is wrapped with a glazed corridor which is the building's primary circulation that 'knots' and connects all its functional programs.
The project strives to evoke a deep, metaphorical and aesthetic relationship with Mother Earth. The central playground courtyard re-establishes the typical natural landscape of the region using native plants / trees to educate children of their regional environment. Meanwhile, the perimeter outdoor spaces incorporate vegetable gardens and small orchards where children can learn how traditional local foods are cultivated. An Ecologic message that integrates environmental education into everyday experiences using the innovative design of gardens. These function as outdoor classrooms that encourage discovery through multi-sensorial experiences: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.
The project's connection to Mother Earth is reinforced through environmentally sensitive design. Passive systems are optimised in order to reduce the need for active ones. Overall building carbon footprint and energy consumption are reduced through the use of renewable source of energy (geothermic heating and photovoltaic energy) as well as the use of recycled and local materials and rainwater collection.
