UniBs study rooms and offices at Carmine: opening in September with two years’ delay

Brescia is preparing to welcome a “European” building in the historic center of the city. The intervention of the University of Brescia in via di Porta Pile enhances the characteristics of the Carmine and marks an important step on the path towards innovation. After four years of construction sites and related traffic disruptions for residents throughout the neighborhood (via di Porta Pile is effectively closed)the structure will open in autumn, with more than two years delay compared to the initial timetable.

A long-standing delay in the delivery of the works caused in large part by difficulties in sourcing materials che has hit the construction sector, caught between the Superbonus effect and the speculations triggered by the war in Ukraine. However, the statements that rector Francesco Castelli releases to the Courier: «I am sure that by mid-September the structure will be tested, the works will be finished as well as the internal fittings».

Con this urban regeneration interventionThe State University has paid particular attention to the issues of environmental sustainability and ecological transition. The new NZEB structure (ossia Nearly Zero Energy Building) it will have almost zero energy consumption. Therefore a green building, compliant with the standards set by the EU, which requires nearly zero-energy buildings with very high performance levels. “I realize that the construction sites have caused some difficulties for businesses and residents, however I hope that our intervention will be appreciated also for its role in enhancing the building. A project that contributes to the urban regeneration that began with via San Faustino and contrada Santa Chiara” explains Castelli.

Therefore students and professors smile because the new building will respond to teaching and research needs. The basement will be used for study rooms. TOOn the ground floor, in addition to the study rooms, there are also areas for relaxation and refreshment. The administrative offices for technical administrative staff and teachers will be located between the first and third floors. On the fourth level, other study rooms and a relaxation area on the terrace will be built, finally the fifth floor will be terraced with a bioclimatic pergola. Inside, the structure will be accessible to all students as it is free of architectural barriers and equipped with tactile paths and maps to facilitate orientation and inclusion.

The ambitious project will regenerate that quadrant of the historic center. By now, the definitive closure of the construction sites is near and is scheduled for the first half of September. However, the first benefits for merchants and catering activities (bars and restaurants) should be seen well before. In fact, at the end of July the timetable indicates the reduction of the external construction site between via di Porta Pile and via delle Battaglia: this should allow the restoration of traffic on via di Porta Pile after four years of inconvenience, facilitating the arrival home of residents with garages who in the meantime have also seen a stretch of via Bixio and via Battaglie pedestrianized. «There have been a thousand delays which I am obviously sorry for, delays due to construction sites, the Covid affair, the procurement of materials. So the times lasted well beyond my initial expectations” continues the rector.

The gestation has proved to be quite long: the beginning of the works dates back to the spring of 2021 and the delivery of the artifact was initially scheduled for August 2022. Furthermore, the project, co-financed by the Ministry of University and Research, has a total value of approximately five million euros: a necessary expense to make the futuristic present and the past of the Carmine coexist.

Inside the university campus, infographics and a visual identity will be placed to recall the history of the city quadrant and the characteristics of the previous building.

Although the city evolves to respond to the renewed needs of society, the history of Brescia is not erased, but rather enhanced.

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