CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES AND METHODS TO DESIGN NEUTRAL CARBON SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN ITALY

With respect to the past the schools today must satisfy the new needs mainly related to the society changes and the development of innovative teaching and pedagogical methods and at the same time, in the context of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 climate and energy framework, be designed as neutral carbon buildings with low primary energy needs. In Italy the last law deals with the environmental system of school buildings dates to 1975. The only integration proposed by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR), dated 2013 outlines only a series of uniquely qualitative guidelines, without any reference to any building’s typological features. Furthermore, this national law of 1975th did not refer to any energy requirements because the first regulation about the buildings’ energy performance was approved in Italy in 1976. Moreover, the design support manuals appear outdated, especially because they are based on the current school regulation of 1975th. In addition, in Italy, the European legislation on energy saving has been implemented with the Ministerial Decree of 26th June 2015 and it points out that starting from the 1st January of 2019 all the public buildings must be nZEB. Therefore, for the design of a new school building specific and interdisciplinary references are currently absent that considers both the innovations introduced by new didactic and pedagogical methods and the principles of sustainability for environmentally friendly buildings, with almost low energy needs and zero emissions. Now the designer cannot refer to a guide, to updated typological models and to specific indications that can direct him towards proper and coherent design choices both in relation to the internal layout organisation and functional distribution of the school building and to energy and environmental strategies. The main aim of the research work is to define qualitative and quantitative guidelines that can help the designer during the preliminary phase of the design process to build carbon-neutral kindergartens and elementary schools in Italy.