New Italian School Architecture: Community-Driven Post-Earthquake Projects

In Pacentro, L'Aquila, the Scuola dei Desideri Mario Silvestri opened on May 31, 2024, with the 2024/2025 school year being its first operational year. Built with €1.7 million from post-earthquake funds (Piano 'Scuole d'Abruzzo – Il Futuro in sicurezza'), the school replaces and relocates the previous elementary and middle schools. The project involved participatory design from 2015 with local community, Viviamolaq, ActionAid, INDIRE, MCA – Mario Cucinella Architects, and LAP architettura. The circular building features a 15-meter central agora, eight classrooms for about 100 students, curved transparent walls, and a green roof. LAP architettura, led by Daniel Caramanico, Federico Sorgi, and Simone Esposito, is working on six similar 'Scuole Consapevoli' projects in Abruzzo, including a kindergarten inspired by saffron in Navelli and the 3D-printed concrete Asilo Nido 3Desideri in Fontecchio. In Parma, Enrico Molteni Architecture completed a 2,450 sqm inclusive educational hub in 2023, combining public and private functions for the university and Fondazione Accademia dei Giorni Straordinari. Other firms like C+S Architects (Veneto, Piedmont), Modus Architects (Alto Adige), and Settanta7 (completed schools in Padua, Sesto Fiorentino, and Porto Potenza Picena) are also active. Despite challenges highlighted by Legambiente's January 2024 report on PNRR delays and seismic retrofitting gaps, the trend toward safe, community-centered schools is advancing.