Awnings Contract
Studying outside, in contact with nature, improves concentration, performances and cognitive skills. These fundamentals have inspired the project of the kindergarten and primary school of Jovençan, in the Valle d’Aosta region, where the learning and play spaces are designed to let children take advantage from the surrounding environmental treasure; even when the weather conditions oblige to stay inside the classroom.
The school, promoting the Outdoor Education through lessons in the nature, is characterised by the glass walls and the big terrace letting the natural light and the landscape come inside the classrooms. For an even more comfortable effect four folding arms awnings Pratic Flex have been installed, allowing to adjust lighting and shading, thus contributing to optimize the energy performances of the building, that is designed to reduce the ecological footprint.
The management is simple, since the remote-controlled automations and the anemometer easily allow the awning to roll up and get secured in case of gusts. That’s exactly the wind resistance that is guaranteed by the patent Flexcontrol: the device, tested in the Pininfarina Wind Tunnel, uses a special elastic bearing positioned in the arm support bracket that compresses and decompresses itself while absorbing the stress coming from air streams, thus protecting the whole frame of the awning.
With their wide cover and the practical front valance, the three modules on the first floor protect the glass walls of just as many classrooms and the terrace designated as a learning lab, thus creating a pleasant shaded space reaching 12 sq. m. On the ground floor instead, a single module of seven sq. m shelters the kindergarten classrooms and the outdoor playground.
Once closed, Flex awnings become almost imperceptible: result of the polished design and the small overall size, but also of the design and the accurate installation of the dealer Arte del Costruire. Placed below the small protruding roof, the awnings are always sheltered and, while open, extend the natural outline of the building. Moreover, the acrylic fabric chosen in a neutral and light shade blends into the materials such as wood and stone, typical of the architectures of the Valle D’Aosta region, lending the building a refined contemporary appearance.
Project: Arte del Costruire
Photo: Mauro Nicoletti, Area 51
Product Flex 375
Product Flex Box
Location Jovençan, Val d'Aosta