Design Team: Antonio Adelfio - Architect, Alessandro Caronia - Architect, Paola D’Aguanno - Architect, Cristina Gulli - Architect, Giuseppe Laudicina - Architect, Teotista Panzeca - Engineer, Marco Zummo - Architect.

 

The commission for this project was won through public tender and was part of a programme to provide new crèches by the Palermo Municipality.

 

The Borgo Nuovo quarter is characterized by neglected urban areas and social problems, and the project had to be carried out on a relatively small budget.

 

In the early 1980s a precast, reinforced concrete structure for the building had been built based on a former scheme. The original structure was never completed. Apart from the restructuring, reorganization and completion of the existing building, we were tasked with designing an extension and the exteriors.

 

The windmill plan comprises four wings. The new wing hosts all communal services required for an updated organisation of the crèche (administrative offices, kitchen, staff room etc). The other three wings house children of different age groups together with dedicated dining rooms, play areas, sleeping facilities and WCs.

 

The four wings project from a central “atrium” that serves as the children’s indoor play area. The rows of windows on each wing receive a pleasant shade from “ombracula” and trellis works made out of painted steel, wood and steel wire.

 

The new building is enriched by the organisation of its external spaces. They are not big, but are designed in a way that gives the impression that they are bigger than they actually are. The outside areas were conceived as an open air continuous play and educational area. Alessandro Caronia, himself, designed light structures and paved areas for children’s games that enrich these spaces.