The construction of the school is the result of the path that the community of the upper valley of the Boite has undertaken five years ago, when established as a priority the construction of a new center for early childhood.

An architectural design competition was identified by local administrators as a means to select the project. The school project matches to the choices made ​​in the preliminary stage of the competition: in the later stages the correspondence between architectural space and goals of the educational psychology project were clarified. The architectural design has been developed considering the relationship between the school, the community and the area. The latter appeared immediately as crucial since the socio-cultural identity of the local population lays in the relationship with the mountain territory one of its hallmarks. In this area, the open space and proximity to vast natural areas are a pervasive dimension, intimately connected to the activities of the residents. Arch_Stella_Scuola_SanVitoDiCadore_Foto_Esterni Arch_Stella_Scuola_SanVitoDiCadore_Foto_Esterni_03.jpgThe site designated for the construction of the new school is located along the edge which delineate the town of San Vito to the Boite stream: the ground is on the left bank of the river, on a downhill slope to the west. The lot occupies the extremity of an area which was built by the filling of a watershed starting in the 70s: once there used to flow the water from a spring that flowed into the Boite which was diverted in those years by the urbanization of the upstream area. The work of backfilling connected the sides of the impluvium and left undefined the front facing downstream, which coincides with the western boundary of the lot.

The built school is a two-storied building
On the ground floor, the edifice consists of two orthogonal alignments along west and south directions, in order to repair the outdoor park from the north winds and obtain the best exposure to the sun, thus benefiting from natural lighting of interior spaces and the reduction of energy consumption. The western and southern sides face the majestic Monte Pelmo which dominates the skyline. The floor is dedicated to kindergarten, nursery school, and service rooms. In the building, the areas dedicated to learning, relaxation and socialization are all made ​​and furnished to be adapted and suitable to educational projects, the rooms have different heights that determine volumetric situations in which children can experience unusual spatial situations. The areas of the school dedicated to children's activities are in connection with the park, thus allowing to establish a continuous relationship with the open space. Arch_Stella_Scuola_SanVitoDiCadore_Foto_Esterni Arch_Stella_Scuola_SanVitoDiCadore_Foto_Esterni_01.jpgThe grassy park is made up of two horizontal planes on two levels, connected by an inclined surface with curvilinear fold. The upper level - which is at the ground floor level - is dedicated to physical activities and it can be equipped with outdoor games. The lower level is designed to plant some native plants and carry out activities related to the cultivation of a small vegetable garden. The basement is dedicated to the music school and it consists of six soundproof classrooms for instrumental music practice, a room for music exhibitions and two utility rooms. The sector coincident with the basement contains the modeled terrain park and today it defines the profile of the backfill with which forty years ago was built on the site.