Day-care centre and nursery school in Milano: a low energy design in temperate climate

A new 120 children nursery school in Milan was designed as a prototype building with an extremely low energy consumption and the possibility to change its layout over the years. The site is characterised by cold winters, hot summers and long shoulder seasons. This prompted the research and design team of Politecnico di Milano to consider this school as exemplary for similar interventions in temperate climates. The main design goal, from the point of view of energy efficiency, was to extend as far as possible the period of the year when the building provides indoor comfort without the use of additional energy. Very good results were obtained through the orientation and morphology of the school – with classrooms facing south – and through a very close integration between the building fabric and the mechanical systems. The envelope is thermally very efficient in both its opaque and transparent parts, allowing for heat conservation in winter, while effective shading and the enhancement of natural ventilation through solar chimneys will provide comfort for most of the warm season. Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery will be combined with an underfloor radiant system fed by a groundwater heat pump. The school is now under construction.