![Temporary School Gymnasium / Didonè Comacchio Architects + MIDE architetti - Facade](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5361/a18e/c07a/80f0/d900/002b/newsletter/MIDE_de_Gioia_Didon%C3%A8_Michielon_Palestra_Massa_Finalese_MG_5308-2%C2%A9_ab_.jpg?1398907236)
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Architects: Didonè Comacchio Architects, MIDE architetti
- Area: 1725 m²
- Year: 2013
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Photographs:Alessandra Bello
![Temporary School Gymnasium / Didonè Comacchio Architects + MIDE architetti - Image 17 of 35](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5361/a0d1/c07a/80f0/d900/0027/medium_jpg/MIDE_de_Gioia_Didon%C3%A8_Michielon_Palestra_Massa_Finalese_MG_2860-2%C2%A9_ab_.jpg?1398907062)
Text description provided by the architects. Following the 2012 earthquake that struck Emilia Romagna a competition was announce to rebuild a destroyed school gymnasium in Massa Finalese.
The site, which is located in the north-east side of a school park, is the border between the urban area and the country side, suggesting the new building to be the new “connecting tool” between these two realities.
![Temporary School Gymnasium / Didonè Comacchio Architects + MIDE architetti - Image 8 of 35](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5361/9f2b/c07a/802d/e100/0023/newsletter/MIDE_de_Gioia_Didon%C3%A8_Michielon_Palestra_Massa_Finalese_MG_2182-2%C2%A9_ab_.jpg?1398906645)
The main focus is to create a structure able to soften the urban/country “boundary” and to characterize the whole of the school park as well:
A new identity blooms through contemporary design contributing itself towards a new local architectural language for the post-earthquake restart.
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5361/a528/c07a/802d/e100/0037/newsletter/PST_Sezione.jpg?1398908185)
From the ruins of the destruction the new gymnasium is born:
A landmark where the new generations can train and confront themselves and lay the foundations for a better future. The building is extremely simple: a pure volume, almost monolithic with a single big opening that allows the view towards the cultivated fields from the spectators’ seats and from the playing field.
![Temporary School Gymnasium / Didonè Comacchio Architects + MIDE architetti - Forest](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5361/a0ba/c07a/802d/e100/002b/newsletter/MIDE_de_Gioia_Didon%C3%A8_Michielon_Palestra_Massa_Finalese_MG_2773-2%C2%A9_ab_.jpg?1398907038)
The ancillary spaces, extremely introspective, look out onto a tree-lined patio. The natural elements are the main actors and playing their part in the gymnasium: trees are hugged by the building and become the backdrop of the interior spaces while the cultivated fields, just like a painting, are the scenery of the playing field.
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5361/a4b5/c07a/80e2/8000/0032/newsletter/PST_Assonometria_Fasi_costruttive_500_A46.jpg?1398908072)
The problematic social conditions determined by the dramatic effects caused by the earthquake, and the demands of the competition which required fast construction time and a very low construction cost, have decisively influenced the design choices: a particularly dry construction technology is chosen in order to build up the whole building in only 5 months with a low construction cost while ensuring the achievement of high energy performance.
![Temporary School Gymnasium / Didonè Comacchio Architects + MIDE architetti - Facade](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5361/a1e4/c07a/80f0/d900/002d/newsletter/MIDE_de_Gioia_Didon%C3%A8_Michielon_Palestra_Massa_Finalese_MG_5342-2%C2%A9_ab_.jpg?1398907323)