Mario Ridolfi, Ivrea nursery school. Nature, contingency, and process

Abstract:

Ridolfi built a nursery school in Ivrea, carving out space between existing buildings to create a mini community where children could recognize their school space as something distinct. The design process involved five versions between 1955 and 1961. Based on archival documentation, our own images, and analytical drawings of the design process and the completed work, we have analyzed the reasons behind the project: the needs of children, nature as part of the educational program, the diversity of spaces for activities and games, the search for alternatives in the network of circulation among the different parts, the creation of a world of its own for children through architecture, the dialogue with the pre-existing built environment and the natural one, and the versatility of the construction system. Two conclusions are worth highlighting. The first is the architect’s attention to the world of children and the fundamental role that nature plays in that world. The second is the understanding, based on the above, of the architect’s working method in this particular project and revealing an open and unpredictable spatial, formal, and material system that explores the contingent nature of the design process.

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