"Unione Europea" Scholastic Center, Milan

Important characteristics: Building constructed base on a design type for the Province of Milan and Cisem, build in a re- qualification area in the periphery

Designer: Arch. V. Gallinella, Ing. G. D'Aquino

• Grade level: 14 - 18 years
• Schools housed: ITSOS, 1° ITT
• Building owner: Province of Milan
• Year of construction: 1995
• Students: 1200
• Grounds area: 62,566 M2
• Building area (SLP): 16,200 M2
• Area per student: 13.5 M2
• Construction costs: £20 billion
• Cost per student: £16.6 million
• Current cost per student: £17.4 million
• Cost per M2: £1.2 million

The design for this scholastic center could be considered the ripest phase of the research done in 1984/85 by the Province of Milan in collaboration with Cisem that brought to fruit the "design-type". The principle objectives of design-type are the in depth and updated study of the relationship between space and education, the revision of the scholastic center concept as a container of the activity and the collective use of the area and the reduction of construction and management costs to within standards set for M2 per student.

The Unione Europea Scholastic Center is located in the southeast periphery of Milan that has significantly developed thanks to the construction of the third subway line. The building houses ITSOS of Milan (Special Technical Order Institute) and the Istituto Tecnico per il Turismo "C. Varalli" (C. Varalli Tourism Technical Institute), sits on approximately 7000 M2 with a volume of 54,000 M2. It is constructed around a central walkway that connects the sports facilities with the classrooms through the entrance atrium.

The distribution of the build makes it so there is no interference between the two schools although they use the same communal areas. The multipurpose areas, able to seat 600, is connected directly to the main atrium and used for large meetings. Open the mobile partitions to unify the two spaces to make the atrium a large theater.

The education building houses the administration offices on the ground floor and is directly connected to the atrium; it has three floors and a basement. This is the ITSOS part and contains two studios with dubbing and editing laboratories and developing and printing labs for cinema and photography students. The connecting axis that is also used for education a various floors widen with places to sit and socialize and a meeting room. A lot of attention has been paid to the colors and shades as well as the lighting. The colors of the classroom walls were chosen to encourage attendance and to keep the students attention during the lessons.