To create extra space for our ever growing school and to ensure continuation of our educational programme(from the Nursery to the Primary School), it became necessary for Little England to build and move into one single building thus improving the internal organisation and resources, both technical and human.

The new building is located in Via Caduti del Lavoro and is part of a complex dating back to the 70s called ‘Casa Marcolini Bevilacqua’ which is currently used for social services, such as housing, library and offices.

The project involved partitioning and restructuring two wings of the complex. The new premises are completely isolated and autonomous from the other part of the building which remains the property of the Marcolini Foundation. There is no possibility of interference from the occupants of ‘Casa Marcolini’, as the two structures are divided internally and externally. There aren’t any common spaces or possibility of direct access between the two establishments as all the classrooms and various other rooms face courtyards or outdoor spaces that are owned by the school.

THE PROJECT

As mentioned above, the project involved the renovation of the two wings on the north side of the complex. The building has been well thought out to ensure suitable teaching spaces, which are a distinguishing feature of Little England School,  such as classrooms, workshop rooms, group spaces, canteen and outdoor gardens.

The school is divided into two buildings, one with four floors (A) and one with two floors (B). There is a flat terrace on top of building A which is not currently used as a teaching space but only as technical spaces.

ACCESS

Access into the school building from outside is via ramps and stairs in accordance with the law, internally there is the use of stairs and lifts for disabled users.

On Via Caduti del Lavoro there are two entrances onto the school grounds: one for pedestrians and one for cars, which leads onto the car park available for use by parents.

All the Nursery and Preschool children enter via the ramp located on the long side of building A, which leads into their cloakrooms with the Chestnut class (3-4 year olds) on the same level and the Mulberry class (4-5 year olds) and the Maple class (5-6 year olds) on the floor above.

All the Primary School children enter via the ramp in-between the two buildings (A and B) by the pedestrian entrance. From there they reach their designated floors by passing through the entrance/reception area and up the internal staircase.

THE SPACES

All teaching spaces have been designed to accommodate the correct number of children, equipped with direct natural light and ventilation and standard toilet facilities. The canteen has  an internal kitchen.

The outdoor spaces have been designed to optimise all recreational activities using suitable materials and equipment.

FEATURES OF THE NEW BUILDING 

The building are equipped with under floor heating and cooling, the latter assisted by dehumidifiers to have excellent thermal comfort throughout the year.

The materials used for the partition walls have sound absorbing characteristics and the lighting fixtures in the classrooms are entirely LED.

The building has been adapted to meet current earthquake resistant, sanitary and energy efficiency standards.