LABORATORIO ARCHIMEDE: UN PROGETTO DI INCLUSIONE SCOLASTICA

Istituto San Giuseppe represents a group of schools in Florence. The primary school has launched a pilot program for inclusion, experimenting with a new interactive teaching model (Laboratorio Archimede) which aims at promoting school integration of children with disabilities and Sen (Special educational needs) aged 6-11. Istituto San Giuseppe didn’t presented an adequate space to develop the Laboratorio Archimede, so it involved the authors in developing a new space model for learning environments, able to support this new teaching method: a place to enhance active participation of students, free movement, sensory stimulation and experimentation, student-teacher and peer relationships, and to ensure equal learning opportunities for all, regardless of gender, culture, ability, physical and mental health. For this reason the authors started a two-year research project “SpInLab – Inclusive spaces for innovative learning”, in which they were conducting a technical analysis of spaces in terms of layout configuration, acoustical and light comfort, an observational analysis of children movements and their activities in relation with the space, and a co-design phase with teachers, psychologists and students, to develop a framework of requirements for inclusive spaces for learning, then applied in a pilot - Laboratorio Archimede - built in Istituto San Giuseppe and inaugurated in April 2025. Laboratorio Archimede is a new model of learning space, structured into different areas according to the principles of inclusion: a clearly identifiable entrance, to foster identity and a sense of belonging; a filter area, for preparing for learning activities and leaving backpacks and personal belongings; the main laboratory area, dedicated to play and free movement; a sensory area for relaxation and technological immersion; and a discovery area, for developing manual skills and experimentation. The main innovation of this project is represented by the participatory process of co-designing that involved teachers, in defining the needs to develop new design solutions, and the children, in creating their “ideal laboratory”. The greatest challenge was designing modular and flexible spaces, which allow to reproduce the Laboratorio Archimede in other educational contexts, in the entire version or just for some components. During this school year, the Laboratorio Archimede will be tested by teachers and students of Istituto San Giuseppe to understand its effects on the quality of learning among primary school children and then aim to replicate the experience in other schools.