A confident standalone building on an atypical plot constrained by the highway accentuates the corner at the entrance to the city. The compact, dynamic form unifies its diverse functions and reflects the vibrant movement of its surroundings.
The site is located outside residential development, in proximity to facilities such as gas stations, storage and production buildings, and shopping centers. The building’s solitary form responds to the urban context of the triangular plot and the nearby heavy road traffic. The structure is designed as a compact volume that becomes an accent along the newly constructed road. The active ground floor, featuring a bistro and showroom, cultivates the industrial surroundings and integrates the site into the life of the city. The building is conceived as three stories with a recessed fourth above-ground floor.
The building combines several functions. The underground level accommodates parking garages; the ground floor contains a bistro and retail showroom; the second and third floors house a secondary school with a capacity of 240 students; and the top floor contains administrative offices for Verona23 a.s.
The floor plan is an equilateral triangle with rounded corners, oriented according to the shape of the site. The layout is dominated by a central circulation core that includes restrooms and building services. A surrounding corridor encircles the core, providing access to generously daylit rooms along the façade.
The exterior appearance of the building was inspired by its industrial context. The contrasting material palette employs metal and glass; white profiled sheet metal with subtle perforation is intersected by black horizontal bands of strip windows. The interior reflects the façade’s contrasting character. A circulation core of exposed concrete, bearing the imprint of wooden formwork, runs through the center of the building. In contrast to the rawness of the concrete, precise white solid balustrades and the main landing wall clad in white glass panels create a refined counterpoint.
