Demolition and reconstruction of the theatre inside the "Scuola Medie Carducci" school complex

The project involved the demolition and subsequent reconstruction of the Theatre inside the "Scuole Medie Carducci" school complex, resulting from the 1975 project by Architect Giuseppe Campos Venuti and Architect Maria Rosa Morello, and located in the District 3 (Buon Pastore - Sant'Agnese and San Damaso) of the Municipality of Modena.

Since the restructuring and standardization of the existing building would have implied inadequate costs without the optimal achievement of the prefixed objectives, apart from strongly influencing the planning phase, we decided to demolish the existing buildings and to replace them with new ones that fully meet the NTC2008 requirements. The aim of the construction of the new Theatre is to provide the school with a new and totally earthquake-resistant architectural structure that meets both operational needs and today's standards.

The new building will rise on the outline of the existing theatre, and therefore alongside the existing school, from which it will be divided by a seismic joint.

The main structures of the theatre will be made of in situ reinforced concrete, except for the coverage of the Central Hall and the Stage Area where prefabricated elements will be used. The foundation of the stalls floor is approximately 50cm thick on a single level, at 1.23 m over the “zero” level.

From a planimetric-volumetric point of view, there are 4 different bodies:

(1st) body with rooms dedicated exclusively to the school (red). This rectangular-shaped body of about 8x21 m has two floors above ground and an additional (open) metal structure on the last level to support the "sight screening" panels that hide the installations.

(2nd) main theatre room with tiered seating (yellow). This rectangular-shaped body of about 18x21 m is the one containing the tiered seating. This has a prefabricated tile roof.

(3rd) stage body (light blue). This rectangular-shaped body of about 9x22 m is the one containing the raised stage and all the equipment/scenery/lights above. Moreover, it has a prefabricated tile roofing in the central area, while it is closed by slabs in each end.

(4th) backstage body (orange). This rectangular-shaped body of about 5x21 m has 3 floors above ground.

Between the 1st and 2nd body there is a seismic joint which is 25 cm higher than the expected deformation movements.

A constraint during the study of the work phases, especially as far as the demolition phase is concerned (which is the most noisy and critical one), was the need to keep the adjacent part of the school complex which is not subject to intervention (classrooms) completely operative during the construction.

(Prospetti e Sezione)