Kindergarten and primary school in Bressanone. Innovation between Wooden Facade and Green Roof

In Sant'Andrea, a small town on the slopes of the Bressanone mountains, the South Tyrolean studio MoDus Architects has designed the extension of an old building from the 1950s, embellishing it with a new wooden volume and creating new spaces for kindergarten, primary school and public spaces at the service of the community. The concept behind this extension sees the school as an element of identification and aggregation. The school is used comprehensively throughout the year and regains its public role in hosting the community, including extracurricular activities and entertainment

The competition required the extension of the existing school, which in turn was built from a residential building from the 1950s and was no longer adequate to accommodate all the school activities. The project by MoDus Architects starts from a partial maintenance of the existing structure, which is however transformed and revised. The new volume, which is completely wooden, seems to rest on the pre-existing structure and is distinguished by elements that are reminiscent of the traditional Alpine architecture

The external facade, designed by Lignoalp, is made up of vertically laminated timber battens: an insulated sub-construction in cross planking and an external cladding of three-layer panels and vertical battens made of larch; an element which, on the one hand, represents a new interpretation of some details of the Alpine architectural tradition and on the other hand fulfills the important function of solar shielding in the classrooms

The green roof, also made by Lignoalp is characterized by its insulated load-bearing structure, waterproofing and extensive greening. Green roof and wooden elements, blending nicely with the surrounding environment as well as contributing significantly to the innovative integration of the entire structure in the environmental context

The interiors are characterized by bright, colourful and stimulating spaces. The horizontally distributed space is large and the vertical walls are oblique and converge or diverge depending on the angle from which they are viewed. This ensures that there are no box-like shapes. The classrooms are separated from the group work areas by sliding doors. Thanks to the extension, the building now houses a large space dedicated to the entire community where the municipal library is located and a large gym used as a theater or event room

The project by MoDus Architects, winner of Materialpreis 2017, stands out for its innovative vision for school activities and the role of the school in the community