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RETHINKING
THE DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

A cura di  

Angelo Ciribini 

Giuseppe Alaimo 

Pietro Capone 

Bruno Daniotti 

Guido Dell’Osso 

Maurizio Nicolella 
ISBN 978-88-916-1807-8

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INDICE

Building Information Management

A. Ciribini Pag. 7

“Definition of a WBS methodology building-element and IFC rela- tions

dependent” C. Zanchetta, G. Croatto, P. Borin, P. Scarparo Pag. 9

“From BIM to BEM for the management of the existing school buildings”
G. M Di Giuda, V. Villa, F. Paleari Pag. 19

“Definition of Incremental Information Data for BIM-based Project” In-

formation management guideline for asset operational phase “Integrating
real-time information in BIMs for building sustainability in the operational
stage” - G. M Di Giuda, V. Villa, L. Loreti Pag. 29

Information management guideline for asset operational phase

G. M. Di Giuda, F. Re Cecconi, M. C. Dejaco, S. Maltese, V. Villa, M.
Schievano Pag. 39

“Integrating real-time information in BIMs for building sustainability in

the operational stage” - D. Pasini, B. Daniotti Pag. 50

“HBIM-aided refurbishment process of Cultural Heritage”

S. Bruno, M. De Fino, F. Fatiguso Pag. 60

“Multi-scale integrated assessment of existing building assets through

BIM” - V. Leggieri, G. Uva, F. Iannone Pag. 70

Interoperability for building process. Model and Method

P. D’Agostino, M. Nicolella, L. M. Papa Pag. 80

ICT for building and construction

“Digitally enabled project management strategies.
Managing risk to support digital transition of construction industry”
M. Bonanomi, G. Paganin, C. Talamo Pag. 90

“Window sustainability assessing tools” - E. Antoniol Pag. 99

Requalification of the Tobacco Factory in Palermo with destination to so-

cial finalities - S. Pennisi Pag. 108
Design and consultancy management
“AIRPORT PLANNING AND DESIGN
The airport projects development within the Italian regulatory fra- me-
work.” A Process Map for the management of façade retrofit
M. A. Esposito, E. Fossi Pag. 118

“Digital information and hedonic models to improve decision making pro-

cesses (BIM-GIS)” - E. Seghezzi, G. Masera Pag. 128

Models for design and construction

“Behavioural Design for Building Construction: from human beha- viours
to smart spaces” - A. Pavan, C. Mirarchi Pag. 138

“Behavioural Design for Building Construction: from human behaviours

to smart spaces” - G. Bernardini, E. Quagliarini, M. D’Orazio Pag. 148

“5D BIM FOR CONSTRUCTION SITE SURVEYNG” - M. L. Trani, M.

Cassano, S. L. Cavalli Pontiroli, G. Zoia Pag. 159

“Parametric Configuration and Comfort Parameters for Dynamic Le- arn-

ing Spaces” - V. Villa, L. C. Tagliabue, G. M. Di Giuda, A. L. C. Ciribini Pag. 169

“Transforming learning spaces: preschool and primary school buildings

in Italy” - P. Carullo, P. Fiore Pag. 179

“Lean Mindset integration for the improvement of Airport design process”

F. Bosi, M. A. Esposito, R. Sacks Pag. 193

“Building Information Modeling and Gamification for educational facilities”

S. Mastrolembo Ventura, D. Simeone, D. Ghelfi, E. Oliveri, A. L.C. Ciribini Pag. 203

“PERFORMATIVE CERAMICS: 3D PRINTING FOR ARCHITEC-

TURAL FABRICATION” - P. Cascone, A. Giglio, E. Ciancio Pag. 213

“Renovation of historic buildings with demountable and deployable sys-

tems: the case of Sant’Agostino Monastery in Bergamo” Pag. 228
A. Pizzigoni, G. Ruscica

Project construction and integrated system management

“A Planning and Scheduling Paradigm for Construction Strategy of a
Building Rehabilitation Project” - M.A. Bragadin, K. Kähkönen Pag. 238
BIM and Multi-Agent Distributed Constraint Optimization
G. Novembri, A. Fioravanti, F. L. Rossini, C. Insola Pag. 248

“Adding construction workspaces modeling and planning to a 4D BIM-

based Simulation Model” Pag. 259
V. Getuli, G. Peretoli, T. Sorbi, A. Kindinis, P. Capone

“Construction Health and Safety Code Checking: a BIM-based Vali- dation Pag. 269
Process” - S. Mastrolembo Ventura, V. Getuli, P. Capone, A. L.C. Ciribini

“HOLOBUILD: process optimization by the introduction of Mixed

Reality in construction site”
F. L. Rossini, A. Fioravanti, G. Novembri, C. Insola Pag. 279

Energy
Nearly zero energy multifunctional modules for public use
M. Caini, R. Paparella Pag. 289

“Integration of BIM-GIS systems for energy-efficient hospital buildings.

The Streamer research and the case study of the Careggi Polycli- nic (Flor-
ence).” - L. Marzi, R. Di Giulio, B. Turillazzi, S. Leone, A. Giuntini Pag. 299

“Energy Management of the Smart City through Information Systems and

Models” - A. Pasquinelli, D. Pasinia, L. C. Tagliabue, E. De Angelis, F.
Guzzettia, A. L. C. Ciribini Pag. 310

Earthworks fuel consumption in residential building projects Pag. 320

B. Bossi, M. L. Trani

“The thermal insulation of STIFERITE for sustainable and zero con- Pag. 330
sumption buildings” - F. Raggiotto

Sustainability
“Adaptive Manufacturing: a new perspective for construction industry”
I. Paoletti, E. Misayaka Pag. 341

“Digital communication platform between man and machine” - M. Ferrari Pag. 351

“Sustainability for emergency and reception” - R. Caponetto Pag. 360

Relational synergy in the strategy of environmental systems and in the in-

novation of the culture of sustainability - M. Di Marzo, D. Forenza Pag. 370
Building performance engineering
“Performance analysis of Model Predictive Control for the thermal control
of buildings” - M. Lemma, M. Luzia, A. Carbonaria, M. Vaccarini Pag. 378

Vapour barriers or whole building hygrothermal design? When using the

standards may yield to building pathologies - R Paolini, T. Poli Pag. 388

“Predicting Energy Performance of an Educational Building through Ar-

tificial Neural Network”
F. Re Cecconi, L. C. Tagliabue, A. L. C. Ciribini, E. De Angelis Pag. 398

“Empirical approach for estimating reduced-order models of buildings”

M. Benedettelli, B. Naticchia, A. Carbonari, M. Vaccarini Pag. 408

“Normalized Total Global Cost for environmental sustainability asses-

sments: a BIM approach”
F. Iannone, A. Pavone, L. Ferrante, G. R. Dell’Osso, A. Pierucci Pag. 419

“VPL for Building Performance Simulation: a case study in light analysis”

C. Zanchetta, R. Paparella, C. Cecchini Pag. 429

The innovative and environmentally friendly construction techniques.

The house of wood and straw - F. Fascia, E. La Mantia, R. Iovino Pag. 439

“Hypothesis for an application of the Factor Method to reinforced concrete

M. Nicolella, C. Scognamillo Pag. 449

Life Cycle Management

“LCA data structure analysis for BIM applications” - C. Cavalliere, G. R.
Dell’Osso, A. Pierucci, F. Iannone Pag. 459

“Application of the of the depreciation cost approach in the choice of the

maintenance strategies”
V. Del Giudice, P. De Paola, M. Nicolella, A. Pino Pag. 469

The effects of a saline environment on the durability of commercial photo-

catalytic paints - D. Enea, G. Alaimo, P. Scalisi Pag. 479
 Transforming learning spaces: preschool and primary school buildings in Italy 

“Transforming learning spaces: preschool and primary

school buildings in Italy”

Carullo Pellegrino*, Fiore Pierfrancesco*

* DICIV Department of Civil Engineering - University of Salerno

pcarullo@unisa.it, pfiore@unisa.it

Topic: Models for design and construction

Abstract
The design and revamping of school buildings can include pure construction works as
well as achievement of didactic and educational objectives.
In this field, analyzing recent Italian policies for school building design (Ministerial
Decree November 4th 2013) and the several pedagogical methods (Montessori, Piaget,
Malaguzzi, Papert, etc.) thereof, is a useful tool to reorganize both new and already
existing buildings.
This paper shows the first results of the analysis stage of a research1 aiming to outline
the meta-design guidelines for a new way of interpreting learning spaces, guidelines
that can support designers and Public Administrations when it comes to school
building.

                                                            
1
  Ongoing research project as part of the PhD in Civil, Construction-Architectural, Environmental and
Territory Engineering (XXIX cycle) – University of Salerno – Department of Civil Engineering (DICIV). 

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 Transforming learning spaces: preschool and primary school buildings in Italy 

1. Introduction

Learning spaces and environments have been crucially influencing children’s

cognitive development for more than a century.
Starting from the beginning of last century, all the pedagogical approaches deriving
from experimental theories and practices have merged in a model for new school
organization. Such a model is based on a key principle: understanding the role and
value to be assigned to educational spaces.
Some of the most renowned scientific contributions include those of Maria Montessori
(1870-1952), Jean Piaget (1896-1952), Loris Malaguzzi (1920-1994) and Seymour
Papert (1928), just to quote a few.
A school building is made up of environments that can go along with children’s
evolution and creativity, allowing them to act in a non-linear way, in a way that differs
from routine practices, promoting more complex relationships both for teachers and
students. The change of environment is followed by a transformation in the teachers’
role, where teachers become more integrated guides and no more the only leaders in
charge of teaching, as in the past.

Fig. 1 Robert Doisneau, The Teacher, Paris, 1956

Several inter-ministerial guidelines have been released in Italy for school building
design and revamping (Ministerial Decree November 4th 2013), supporting such a
transformation in school buildings. These guidelines acknowledge many of the
requests coming from the above-mentioned pedagogical methods and lead to the

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creation of open, multi-purpose and flexible spaces, all including different learning
processes, by combining physical and virtual spaces.
This is how the school of the future should “open”, based on the urban community
model: a structure made of squares (agorà), work corners, porticos and gardens,
namely a civic center as per cutting-edge international experimentations.

2. Main text
The birth of preschools
Preschools were created in Europe, following the Industrial Revolution, as a response
to women’s need to enter the world of work. The so-called Scolette (small schools)
started spreading in 19th - century Italy. They were private institutions, set up – often
in small and unhealthy environments – with the noble intention to take the children of
working mothers away from the streets and try to raise literacy rates.
The real transformation came some decades later, thanks to the interest of the first
pedagogues, who intended to establish new institutions aimed at teaching, educating
and transmitting knowledge to children, rather than simply having their custody.
The establishment in 1840 of the first kindergarten by the pedagogue Friedrich
Froebel is a particularly relevant contribution. Kindergartens represent, in fact, the
basis to build institutions for children’s education. They consisted of indoor rooms,
yards for physical activity, and gardens, being these latter essential for children to stay
in contact with nature. All the above as a means to increase their freedom of
expression and let children discover themselves as well as the context around them,
mainly through games2.

The influence of pedagogy on learning spaces

In Italy, the sisters Rosa and Carolina Agazzi, together with Maria Montessori started
following in Froebel’s footsteps since the end of the 19th century.
The Agazzi sisters laid the foundations for (public) nursery schools, where childhood
education was conducted in a familiar, almost domestic, environment and atmosphere,
to which children were used, and where they were coordinated and led by an educator
– a new motherly figure – in activities similar to those of adulthood: domestic,
artisanal and agricultural activities (gardening was a remarkable experience to get
children closer to nature).
                                                            
2
See L'infanzia come gioco: Fröbel,in the website www.sapere.it. 

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Maria Montessori (1870-1952) is the first scholar firmly establishing her own theories
on education, giving rise to a pedagogical method based on a detailed psychological
research, aimed at nurturing sensory experiences and considering learning as an
experience to be conducted in a structured and stimulating environment for children.
Montessori paid much attention and respect to children as distinct individuals, and
besides, believed that educators’ roles had to change, together with the structure and
organization of school spaces.
According to Montessori, in fact, children discover their intellectual dimension only
when in a suitable environment. They feel totally fulfilled and completely free under
the watchful and attentive gaze of the teachers/educators, who observe but do not lead,
simply serving as the link between children and the space they act in: “Ho visto che il
bambino, lasciato libero di lavorare, impara, diventa colto, assorbe conoscenze e fa
esperienze personali, che acquistate in questo modo, si fissano nel suo spirito e, come
semi piantati in un terreno fecondo, non tarderanno a germogliare, a dare frutti”3.

Fig. 2 Maria Montessori and a Children’s House (Casa dei Bambini) in 1930s

In addition to this, the pedagogue hardly criticized traditional school architecture,

especially with regard to functional distribution and space organization, comparing
existing structures to graves: “le scuole coi banchi allineati come catafalchi, tutti neri,
sol perché essi devono essere del colore dell’inchiostro e nascondere le macchie4”
(Montessori M., 1986).

                                                            
3
  “I have noticed that children – when left free to work – learn, become cultured, absorb knowledge and
gain personal experience, that remain fixed in their spirit, if so acquired, and will soon sprout and fructify,
as seeds planted in a fertile soil”  Maria Montessori’s speech at San Remo Conference in 1949, in Regni
R., “Infanzia e società in Maria Montessori, il bambino padre dell’uomo”, Rome, 2007. 
4
 “Desks at school are all black and lined up as catafalques, for the only reason that they must be the same
colour as ink, to hide stains”.  

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On the contrary, Montessori’s Casa dei Bambini (Children’s House) - built in 1907 in
San Lorenzo district, Rome - as well as all the other schools built in Italy and in the
rest of the World, are an example of open architecture that focuses on children, and
leaves them free to move in spaces suitable for their age, and furniture suitable to their
needs: so light to be easily moved and also adjustable in order to be used for different
activities (playing, writing, acting, etc.).

Fig. 3 The environment of a “Montessori” school

School and its spaces had to represent a primary component of education: a real
“teacher”. Such a concept will be then taken up by other famous pedagogues and
educators, inferring that “nelle nostre scuole non si insegna, è l’ambiente che fa tutto5”
(Honegger Fresco G., 2008 - Honegger Fresco G., 2000).
In this sense, educational spaces need to have such dimensions so as to enable all
children to freely move in an environment free from furniture, and, at the same time, a
suitable area to accommodate them all, seated at their desks.
Montessori’s approach is a hugely innovative one if compared to educational methods
at that time. It widely and rapidly spread in Europe and the United States and started
representing the scientific landmark for several pedagogues both in Italy and abroad.

Today’s preschool and primary school in Italy

According to the present organization of the Italian school system, preschool
education is carried out in preschools, lasts three years and is for younger children
between the ages of three and six, while primary school lasts five years in all and is for
                                                            
5
 “We do not teach in our schools, it is the environment that does it all.” 

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children between the ages of six and eleven. Preschool is part of the national school
and educational system, yet, it is not compulsory and is the only existing type of early
childhood education, and may be both privately operated or government run.
Preschools contribute to children’s education and to emotional, psychomotor,
cognitive, moral, religious and social development, fostering children’s relational
potentialities, independence, imagination, learning capabilities and ensuring education
opportunities are equally accessible for all.

Fig. 4 A taught lesson in a rectangular classroom

Primary school (compulsory), welcomes and nurtures distinctiveness, promotes the

development of personalities and has different aims, as follows. It should help children
acquire and develop basic knowledge and abilities - computer literacy included - learn
how to express themselves (Italian language and English literacy), start using
scientific methodologies in the study of the natural world, natural phenomena and
related rules. Primary school should also foster relational capabilities and orientation
skills (both in space and time), and teach children the basic principles of civic
coexistence.

Italian school heritage

All the above-mentioned didactic activities are performed in school buildings that are
part of the existing public property, seldom undergoing innovation and revamping
projects of national interest.
An annual survey by Legambiente called Ecosistema Scuola (4) (School Ecosystem)
constantly monitors such building heritage in Italian cities. It is about quality of
buildings and services in Italian preschools and primary schools, and aims to capture

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how much Local Authorities in charge invest in energy sustainability, static security
and circulation of good practices.
The XVI Legambiente Report (2014 census) is not totally reassuring and the analysis
of some of the data gathered shows that school buildings are particularly old.
According to the report, 65% of the buildings censused (6.310) were built before the
1974 anti-seismic law came into force, and only 9,3% of the total were built between
1991 and 2014. Such data clearly shows that only few investments have been made in
the last twenty years as regards the construction of new schools.
Only lately a school building plan has been implemented, upon the MIUR (Italian
Ministry of Education, Universities and Research) initiative. For the first time in
Italian history, a Program for school building works (period 2015-17) has been set up,
including funding of renovation projects, securing works, compliance with anti-
seismic laws, and energy efficiency in schools, buildings dedicated to advanced
artistic or musical education, or to be used as accommodations and residences for
university students, gymnasiums and new buildings.
7 August 2015 Decree launched the so-called Scuole Innovative (Innovative Schools)
program, providing for the construction of 30 news schools in Italy, to be built using
as a reference innovative ideas in the following fields: architecture, systems,
technology, energy efficiency and structural security. In particular, these new schools
shall be provided with new learning spaces and shall be open locally.

Fig. 5 The MIUR (Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research) School Building Plan
(2015/2017)

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 Transforming learning spaces: preschool and primary school buildings in Italy 

Transforming learning spaces

 

As said above, classrooms have always been considered the “hub” of school
education, while the remaining spaces have always been seen as ancillary. Each and
every school area was designed and structured so as to serve a specific purpose. It
followed that, as the activity for which they were destined was not conducted, they
ended up unused.
Spaces connecting students and teachers, as well as gymnasiums or laboratories were
only used separately from and could not overlap everyday lessons.
As time went by, the evolution of architecture for school buildings has shown that the
type-function organization and, consequently, the arrangement of classrooms and
furniture have changed in line with the development of new pedagogical concepts
(some of which have been described above), and new, improved didactic methods.
In this regard, avant-garde theories acknowledged the essential educational role of
space and the way it is constructed, in its symbolic, functional, and aesthetic aspects.
Such theories have also recognized the importance of learning environments, also
defined as “the third teacher” by the pedagogue Loris Malaguzzi6 (Edwards C.,
Gandini L., Forman G., 1996), recalling Montessori’s approach.
Notwithstanding, schools designed by Modern Movement architects - despite
introducing new architectural languages - did not actually change teaching as their
space organization was again a traditional one: with classrooms and desks in parallel
rows facing the teacher’s desk7.

                                                            
6 Pedagogue and psychologist Loris Malaguzzi’s theory is that children’s growth is influenced by
interactions: first with adults (parents and teachers), secondly with their peers and then with the
environment.
7 In an article dating back to 1947 (for the magazine Domus, No. 220), architect Ernesto Rogers claimed

that to solve education-related problems, a “teaching architecture” had to be developed, as “It goes
without saying that progressive pedagogy needs a suitable architecture: functional spaces, adjustable to
the complex needs of a teaching method that is not satisfied with simply considering students as a mass

with no distinction, but instead intends to encourage the development of each individual”.

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 Transforming learning spaces: preschool and primary school buildings in Italy 

Fig. 6 Aldo Rossi, Primary School, Fagnano Olona (VA), 1972/76

The renewed debate between pedagogues and designers in 1960s Italy led to New
Technical Regulations for School Building (Norme Tecniche per l’Edilizia Scolastica,
Ministerial Decree December 18th, 1975) being issued and introduced some important
requirements: school buildings had to be part of a teaching ‘continuum’, set in a social
and urban context, and had to integrate with other nearby facilities. Moreover, the
term “pedagogical unit” replaced “classroom”, and could be determined not only
based on age but also according to each student’s interests and inclinations.
After 1975 Regulations being issued, a widespread yet fragmentary experimentation
took place. Meanwhile, in Italy, the debate enlivening the first decades after World
War II dwindled, while research continued in Europe and worldwide, thanks to some
architects who started feeling the need to translate pedagogical theories into learning
environments and how to reorganize learning spaces.
Herman Hertzberger is the European architect most active in the last years of last
century in studying and designing school buildings. Hertzberger developed his own
idea of Montessori’s space pedagogy, namely aiming to give space a better structure.
His concept of schools recalls that of cities, introducing the idea of an educational
promenade, where classrooms are like houses connected by means of a road and the
square becomes the evolution of the yard, seen as a privileged meeting place
(Baglione C., 2007).

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 Transforming learning spaces: preschool and primary school buildings in Italy 

Fig. 7 Herman Hertzberger, Montessori primary and preschool, Delft (NL), 1960/81

It can be said that “nelle scuole di Hertzberger ritroviamo la stessa complessità degli
affascinanti percorsi della città storica, la stessa vitalità, e siamo colpiti dalla stessa
voglia di scoperta, dalla stessa curiosità […] la sua architettura nasce dalla vita
stessa e crea uno spazio denso di opportunità per i suoi abitanti […] spazi per il
coinvolgimento, per l’incontro, indugio, la sosta, lo sguardo8”.

Fig. 8 Herman Hertzberger, Apollo primary schools, Amsterdam (NL), 1980/83

Therefore, according to Hertzberger, school architecture may sum up the value and
opportunities provided by learning spaces, as per methods and practices developed and
required by the leading pedagogues in designing educational environments.

                                                            
8 “Hertzberger’s schools are as complex as the captivating routes and vitality in historical cities, and we
are hit by the same will to discover, by the same curiosity […] his architecture comes out of life itself and
creates a space full of opportunities for those who live in it […] spaces open to involve, meet, hesitate,
stop and look”, https://bricolofilippo.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/3-lezione-la-cornice-della-vita-herman-
hertzberger/.

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 Transforming learning spaces: preschool and primary school buildings in Italy 

Fig. 7 Herman Hertzberger, De Eilanden Montessori Primary School, Amsterdam, 1996

According to Hertzberger, school should provide competences different from those

required by the industrial society: it should be conceived as a single space whose
distinct areas – each designed for a different function – have the very same importance
and at the same time are adjustable and able to welcome children and adults at any
time, letting them conduct several types of activities.
On the wake of Hertzberger’s theories, it is at least a decade that other European
architects, while designing school buildings, have complied with the above-mentioned
renewed needs of contemporary society, teaching and pedagogy.

New Italian Guidelines for school building

With regard to the transformation of educational environments, the Italian Ministry of
Education approved the “New Guidelines for internal architectures in schools”
(Ministerial Decree March 11th 2013), inspired by the need to renovate school based
on the new criteria9 that spaces change according to the changes produced by digital
technologies and the evolution of teaching.
The main, definitely innovative contents are as follows:
- A new kind of educational space, open to urban community and based on the
structure of Agorà;

                                                            
9 The new guidelines for school building also partially draw on the outcome of the National Conference
“Quando lo spazio insegna. Nuove architetture per la scuola del nuovo millennio” (When space teaches.
New architectures per the school of the next millennium), organized by the MIUR and Indire Ricerca,
held in Rome on February 16th, 2012. The cases of Danish, Dutch and Swedish schools were studied as
cases of excellence European schools, innovative as regards internal and external space “architectures”,
and promoting the introduction of new organizational models for education and learning.

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 Transforming learning spaces: preschool and primary school buildings in Italy 

- a multi-purpose, flexible, adjustable, and appealing space, in line with cutting-edge

international standards;
- the casa del sapere (house of knowledge) shall integrate different types of learning
thanks to the synergy between physical spaces (parts of the building and furniture)
and virtual spaces (smart tools: tablets, LIM, wi-fi, etc.)
- the way schools are conceived shall allow for changes in spaces according to the
desired activity;
- the flexibility of furniture and multi-functionality of environments shall lead to a
prolonged use in time and to outer adjustable spaces;
- the building shall be a continuous fabric made of squares, sections, work corners,
gardens and porticos;
- schools shall also serve as civic centers able to promote social, educational and
cultural events.

Fig. 9 Graphic summary of the “New guidelines for internal architecture in schools” issued by the Miur
in 2013

In brief, the new Guidelines for school building offer the picture of a school that is
distant from the mere sum of classrooms and ancillary spaces located along different,
more or less linear paths. Bypassing such educational feature, new schools shall also
expand to include their surrounding social context, and increase and improve - both
internally and outside, the quality of relationships among teachers, students and
parents.

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Conclusion
The design of a school - for both preschool and primary education - shall be based on
the research of spaces focused on children and their physical and intellectual
development.
Environments do not just simply need light, heating and cleanliness, from a merely
functionalist standpoint. Due to their structure, instead, school buildings have to
actively participate in educational activities, thus contributing to education and
learning.
Maria Montessori’s contribute to such educational theories is essential. The well-
known Italian physician and pedagogue stressed the need to boost students’
independence and spirit of initiative. Therefore, school shall provide spaces suitable to
allow autonomous acquisition of knowledge and capabilities, as well as increase
chances to build relationships and cooperate.
All the other pedagogical theories mentioned in the paragraphs above also show how
children must be able to interact with the physical environment. This latter, in turn,
shall be conceived not only based on children’s ages, but also according to their
interests and inclinations, not as classrooms but as pedagogical units, and shall be so
flexible as to welcome different activities, including leisure and open-air activities.

3. References
(1) Montessori M., (1986) “Educazione alla libertà”, Laterza, Rome-Bari.
(2) Honegger Fresco G., (2008) “Maria Montessori. Una storia attuale”, ed.
L’ancora del Mediterraneo, Naples.
(3) Honegger Fresco G. (edited by), (2000) “Montessori: perché no? Una pedagogia
per la crescita. Che cosa ne è oggi della proposta pedagogica di Maria
Montessori in Italia e nel mondo”, Franco Angeli, Milan.
(4) Ecosistema Scuola - XVI Legambiente Report, 2015 (www.legambiente.it).
(5) Edwards C., Gandini L., Forman G., (1996) “I cento linguaggi dei bambini”, ed.
Reggio Children.
(6) Baglione C., “Pedagogia dello spazio”, Herman Hertzberger, Scuola Montessori,
Delft, 1960-81, in CASABELLA, Nos. 750-751, pp. 54-60 (Dec. 2006/Jan.
2007).

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 Transforming learning spaces: preschool and primary school buildings in Italy 

4. Iconographical References
Fig. 1. https://it.pinterest.com/pin/290341507199931828/
Fig. 2. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mont5.jpg
http://www.cosedamamme.it/2015/01/15/le-10-regole-del-metodo-
montessori/
Fig. 3. https://www.cinquecosebelle.it/in-cosa-consiste-il-metodo-montessori-
cinque-elementi-fondamentali/
Fig. 4. http://lavoroefinanza.soldionline.it/gallery/bambini-maestra-scuola-
elementare-percorso-lavorativo-150611-1.html
Fig. 5. http://www.istruzione.it/edilizia_scolastica/index.html
P. Boarin’s speech at the conference Per una nuova edilizia scolastica,
Edicom Edizioni, Naples 14.05.2015
Fig. 6. Gianni Braghieri (edited by) (1981), Aldo Rossi, Zanichelli, Bologna, p. 86
Fig. 7. Herman Hertzberger, Scuola Montessori, Delft, 1960-81, CASABELLA,
Nos. 750-751, pp. 59-60 (Dec. 2006/Jan. 2007)
Fig. 8. https://wharferj.wordpress.com/tag/apollo-montessori-school/
https://it.pinterest.com/pin/326792516685786026/
http://www.architectural-review.com/archive/viewpoints/the-big-rethink-
part-4-the-purposes-of-architecture/8628284.fullarticle
Fig. 9. http://www.e-architect.co.uk/architects/herman-hertzberger
http://www.bdp.it/aesse/content/index.php?action=read_school&id_m=1218
1
http://www.bdp.it/aesse/content/index.php?action=read_school&id_m=1218
1&id_cnt=12286
Fig. 10. http://www.indire.it/quandolospazioinsegna/eventi/2012/abcd/

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