When curves take centre stage

Although schools are places used mainly by young people, the buildings themselves are generally very dated structures, a far cry from the popular image of architecture in harmony with modernity. The revolution in electronics followed by that of information technology have radically altered lifestyles, Google and iPhone influencing the culture, customs and aesthetics of everyday life and our perception of the global landscape.
Given that contemporary architecture must embrace the flow of life, the mission of architects is to create public spaces that reflect the complexity pervading the spirit of the times.
The project created by architects Rita Rava and Claudio Piersanti concerns the renovation of the „Pellegrino Artusi“ Hotel Institute in Rivoli Terme in the province of Ravenna and the creation of a new complex on a site that includes a primary school.
One of the key features of the project is a dining and reception facility with large multi-purpose rooms in line with the latest standards designed to provide maximum comfort for students and teachers.
In extension projects, architects always have to choose between two options: integrating the new project into the existing architecture, or creating a structure with its own identity, naturally taking care not to sacrifice the existing architecture in terms of anonymity. In this particular case the architects sought to go beyond a formal approach by creating a semicircular volume, a wide curve that alludes to a symbolic embrace joining the new building to the existing fabric through an interconnection that highlights the entrance while creating a kind of square providing new relational and meeting spaces.
Opening onto a green space and benefiting from a favourable exposure, the new structure blends harmoniously into the layout of the existing building while retaining its own autonomy in terms of both construction technology and new materials. New spaces also mean a new environment, atmospheres capable of proposing the innovative lifestyle visions of an optimistic, future-looking community in keeping with the colourful world of the younger generation.
For this reason ceramic tiles were an obvious choice (Trasparenze series from Ceramica Vogue), the wide range of available colours allowing for a striking contrast between the floor and wall surfaces. Interior spaces clad with glossy ceramic tiles create dynamic ambiences through continuous plays of reflection. Walls and partitions dominated by bright primary colours give rise to a striking scenario made up of almost geometric blocks, as though creating a three-dimensional abstract work of art.