Scuola De Amicis, Beinasco

This project, winner of an architectural competition, envisions the demolition and reconstruction of the De Amicis Elementary School in Beinasco. The new school is conceived as a small city: a constellation of volumes gathered within a transparent perimeter, where all students share the same level and move freely through spaces designed to welcome encounter, curiosity, and discovery. The permeable boundary creates a continuous dialogue between the interior and the surrounding landscape, allowing nature to flow gently into the learning environment.

The primary structure consists of a reinforced-concrete frame and a seismic-resistant stair core. The roof structure of the gymnasium includes paired glulam beams with a 20×100 cm section, designed to support the heavy loads of the roof.
The reinforced-concrete frame follows the complex geometry of the cubes that subdivide the interior spaces, arranged around the circular ring: columns and beams vary in span and section to accommodate the corresponding conditions.
The circular ring is composed of a timber structure connected to the reinforced-concrete annular beam, acting as a permeable dividing element from which all areas of the school can be accessed.

Nature becomes a companion and an active presence. Green spaces extend from the ground-floor garden to the terraces and the rooftop, echoing the diverse layers of an urban landscape. In this way, new forms of encounter between children and the natural world are nurtured—encounters rarely embraced in traditional school design. The school becomes not only a place of education, but a living environment that grows, adapts, and inspires.