SCHOOL IN TRANSITION: A project for a community space for a distributed school in Palermo’s Noce neighborhood

The research process initiated on the topic of open-air schooling involved intense in-depth research that integrated social, pedagogical, and ethical issues into the architectural project, recognizing the school’s central role in the education of young citizens and in building local relationships within the neighborhood.

The thesis identifies a strategic area for intervention in the Noce neighborhood, between Via Fondo la Manna and Via Luigi Eredia, near the E. De Amicis School. This urban space is currently abandoned and awaiting redevelopment, lacking a clear public function and architectural recognition.

The project’s objective is to redevelop the public space through a complex process that involves, in a first phase, the demolition of obsolete and abandoned buildings, and subsequently the transformation of the area between the two streets into a play and recreational space serving the neighborhood and the school community.

To achieve these objectives, the thesis proposes the insertion of a skate park in the center of the block, primarily intended for neighborhood youth, and the reorganization of the urban edge through the addition of two lightweight pavilions for neighborhood activities.

The first, located on the east side, is a linear pavilion intended for outdoor sports, particularly climbing. The second, on the west side, completes the existing block with a modular pavilion intended for neighborhood associations and outdoor school activities, which can also be used for extracurricular activities at the nearby E. De Amicis School.

The project proposal stems from the need to activate a waiting urban space, enhancing the quality of public space and integrating it with a new recreational infrastructure, consistent with the needs expressed by the school community and associations in the Noce neighborhood.