Fuori Classe, Italy / Atelier Architettura Chinello Morandi

Shared by the architects upon our invitation.

A direct overhead drone shot showing children and teachers sitting in a circle inside the completed modular classroom — ©Marco Pittarella

Architects: Atelier Architettura Chinello Morandi

Year: 2022

Location: Biella, Italy

Lead Architects: Arch. Ing. Rodolfo Morandi and Arch. Nicolò Chinello

Awarded: Premio Maggia, 2022, finalist

Area: 30 m²

Photos: ©Rodolfo Morandi, ©Andrea Taglier, ©Filippo Mazzon, ©Marco Pittarella

“FUORI-CLASSE!”, created on the occasion of the Federico Maggia Award 22, is a circular educational space, consisting of modular seating, born from a process of listening and sharing with pupils, teachers, and local realities: a democratic classroom.

Axonometric drawings of three modular units showing how children can sit, play, and interact within the tiered wooden structure. — ©Rodolfo Morandi

The purpose of the project is to support a small primary school in the Biella area in an outdoor education project, where learning can take place in contact with nature.

The outdoor classroom is therefore the architectural evolution of a habit that the school’s pupils developed during the pandemic, working outdoors, each with an umbrella to shield themselves from the sun.

A hand-drawn sketch illustrating the conceptual transition from a child using a handheld umbrella for shade to being protected within a permanent, triangular wooden modular structure — ©Luca Pradella

A simple structure, exportable to different contexts, composed of recyclable and reused materials: wood in dialogue with the forest and the colorful curtains that define a welcoming environment for children.

A child's hands tying a white cord to secure the striped fabric curtain to the wooden frame of the classroom — ©Rodolfo Morandi

The outdoor classroom first becomes a lesson space, and then also lends itself to small theatrical performances, like an amphitheater in the green, or to convivial moments such as group picnics or breaks for play and recreation; with the children’s imagination it can become a big house, a castle, or a sailing ship. In this way, the place of learning loses the characteristic of a rigid instructional space, becoming instead a safe and welcoming place, where every child can express themselves freely.

An architectural plan view showing the circular arrangement of 24 numbered modular seating units that form the democratic classroom

The work was carried out through participatory self-construction, involving the school’s pupils in a workshop for coloring the curtains, in order to create affection and a sense of belonging to the structure intended for them.

Workers and volunteers assembling the wooden modular frames of the structure in an outdoor setting, demonstrating the self-construction process — ©Filippo Mazzon

Close-up of children's hands using paint rollers and natural leaves to create white patterns on red fabric during a workshop to create a sense of belonging — ©Andrea Taglier

The final result was made possible thanks to the contribution of Eugenio Foscale Legnami of Biella, which provided the construction material free of charge, and PlanBee.bz, a crowdfunding platform through which the community was involved and the funds useful for the future maintenance of the structure were raised.