Innovative design solutions for the school of the future. The case Study of the secondary school Cino da Pistoia in Italy.

The EU recognizes the need for near-complete decarbonization of the building sector, defining energy performance requirements to encounter longer-term climate neutrality goals by 2050. To facilitate this transition, it is necessary to identify suitable passive strategies, innovative design solutions, and building integrated renewable energy systems specifically studied concerning climate conditions. The paper presents a simulationbased optimization process to evaluate design solutions' effectiveness on energy performances and indoor comfort for building the new school building “Cino da Pistoia" in Italy. The applied methodology helps enhance nZEBs design and facilitate decision-making in early building design phases. In addition, a comprehensive study on occupants’ indoor comfort is presented with specific reference to thermo-hygrometric comfort and lighting comfort. The results have demonstrated that it is possible to reduce the global energy demand of the building and to improve the level of perceived comfort through the adoption of high efficiency building envelope technological systems and passive strategies.