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by Sadia Quddus
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AM3's Prize-Winning Boarding School to Open Onto Mount Stelvio in Malles
AM3 Architetti Associati has been awarded first prize in a competition to design a new
boarding school in Malles (Bozen, Italy). The proposed building takes full advantage of the
landscape, opening onto views towards Mount Stelvio and the Mustair Valley. Drawing
inspiration from this unique context, AM3 crafts a design that integrates opportunities for active
participation between building and land, and student with nature.
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Along the Northeast boundary, a retaining wall and horizontal building mass work in unison to
level the sharp drop between the mountainside and ground level of the plot. The main building
takes the form of an open "U" shape, positioned in order to create three distinct outdoor spaces.
A park on the southern side connects neighboring agricultural land with the school, while a
service area on the northern end provides parking lots, facility premises, and kitchen loading
areas. A central private courtyard and garden establishes a gathering space and provides views
for common areas.
UpLab; Courtesy of AM3 Architetti Associati
The fitness room, canteen, and study lounge are housed on the ground floor, with residential area
in a separate volume on the upper two stories. The complex is meant to be entered from the
south, where the porter's lodge is located. This forms the origin of the main vertical connections.
A focus on the relationship between indoors and out is evident in building thresholds. Flexible
classrooms and leisure areas are found on the Northeast end, organized to provide views into the
courtyard. A large curtain glass wall in the fitness room dissolves the separation from nature and
opens onto Mount Stelvio. Lodgings are designed in an independent block, with each room
positioned strategically to maximize on year-round direct sunlight.
A solidly formed structural system makes use of in-situ car concrete exterior walls, using
external screens to reduce solar heat gain. Aiming to meet "Class A" standards of the Climate
House protocol, the building works to utilize the thermal and acoustic qualities of cast concrete,
and is oriented in order to take advantage of solar resources while avoiding overheating.
Completion is slated for 2019.
Competition
Boarding School Malles
Award
First Prize
Architects
AM3 Architetti Associati
Location
Via Malles, 39100 Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
Design Team
AM3 Architetti Associati, Studio Cangemi s.a.s. (Head of the team), Ing. G.
Pecoraro
Collaborator
arch. Luca Farina
Rendering
UpLab.eu
Project Year
2019
Photographs
UpLab; Courtesy of AM3 Architetti Associati