02/09/2025
Social housing in a former school.
The topic of social housing, especially for young couples who have difficulty breaking into the housing market, is on the tip of everyone's tongue these days, starting from the Italian government which recently established a new program targeting that demographic, to our local newspaper which covered one of our public works projects for the Cagliari municipality - the reuse of a decommissioned school for 21 small apartments with below-market, subsidized rent, for temporary use.
The article reports the preparation of the construction site for the project which we began working on in 2018. Seven years later, it turns out to be on the cutting edge - one of the first concrete examples, in Sardinia, of an approach to reusing existing non-residential building stock for residential uses. Here the school typology with classrooms around the perimeter and more open social gathering spaces on the interior, had to be adapted for a residential type which needs light even in its most interior spaces. To give the building a less institutional aspect and provide some exterior space for each unit, a steel “veranda” structure was added.
The lot has ample open space which will be available for residents and the exisiting gym structure will be renovated for use by both the broader community and the residents.
The article reports the preparation of the construction site for the project, which we began working on in 2018. Seven years later, it turns out to be on the cutting edge - one of the first concrete examples, in Sardinia, of an approach to reusing existing non-residential building stock for residential uses. Here, the school typology with classrooms around the perimeter and more open social gathering spaces on the interior, had to be adapted for a residential type that needs light even in its most interior spaces. To give the building a less institutional aspect and provide some exterior space for each unit, a steel “veranda” structure was added. .
Project with: Andrea de Echer/Giorgio Girardi, INIOS srl, Alberto Collu, Cristiano Murru, Cristiana Meloni,
