Culture and education: library, school, museum, theatre

A sealed envelope with three alternative design themes (Section A, second 2025 session), published in synthetic form by the commission and paired with the first written test justifying the structural or settlement sizing. THEME 1 — the design of a public neighbourhood library, with the layout of parking, greenery and paths. THEME 2 — the recovery and consolidation of a Tuscan barn altered over time, with a new residential use. THEME 3 — an urban-transformation design in the Soccorso district of Prato, with the regeneration of the built fabric and public spaces. As in the first session, the three themes span the public building with its outdoor facilities, the recovery of a rural existing structure with a change of use, and the urban scale of a neighbourhood's regeneration.

The session offered three alternative themes. THEME A — a residence serving a farming family of four on a 25,220 sqm olive-grove estate in Abruzzo, designed under art. 61 of Regional Law 58/2023: 5,000 sqm intervention lot, 0.02 cum/sqm index up to 800 cum, max height 7.5 m, 10 m from boundaries; Mediterranean climate, south-facing solar gains and energy self-sufficiency. THEME B — an exhibition building for local craft products: 500 sqm gross on two levels, max height 10 m, on a 6,400 sqm lot with public green and a 36-space car park. THEME C — a media library and multi-purpose space in a small Abruzzo town, on a 12 m wide infill lot between two blind buildings, facing a square with a church façade as its backdrop: two-level programme (media library, 40-seat conference hall, a café usable from outside; offices and a start-up space upstairs), with energy-environmental criteria and full accessibility. All three themes require the percentage breakdown of works according to the UNI 8290 classification.

A sealed envelope with three alternative practical-exam themes (Section A, 5 hours): a single school complex in a small municipality — on a large, almost-square flat lot with the access road to the south and greenery on the other sides — gathering a primary school (south), a nursery (north), a canteen (east) and a gym (west); each candidate designs one building, all linked to the school by a covered, air-conditioned external body and all to be made accessible to disabled users. THEME 1 — the primary school (max footprint 50×25 m, north-south, two levels): classrooms for two sections of 25 children, four specialist rooms, a multipurpose double-height hall of about 200 sqm usable after hours without opening the whole building, a staff room, head office and archive, secretariat and porter's lodge, with a lift. THEME 2 — the gym (max 32×24 m, east-west): a play space for basketball/volleyball/five-a-side, separate changing rooms with toilets and showers, an infirmary and store, public bleachers above the ancillary rooms with a dedicated toilet, a glazed strip to the outside, an independent supervised entrance to separate the flows of athletes, public and students; the volume may be up to 1.5 m below grade. THEME 3 — the canteen (max 24×16 m, about 350 sqm): a dining hall, a kitchen with a special-diets area, a pantry reachable from outside for supplies, dishwashing and storage, staff changing room; also meant for occasional fairs and public events, with the hall opening directly outside to the east and a structure that avoids internal columns for maximum flexibility. Shared deliverables: 1:100 plans with minimal furniture, a significant 1:100 section, 1:100 elevations, and the construction detail of the ground and roof nodes showing attention to energy containment (1:20).

A sealed envelope with three alternative practical-exam themes (Section A, summer session 2017), each with its linked first written test. THEME 1 — an urban-regeneration design for Transformation District no. 17 of Genoa's municipal urban plan (PUC), in Sampierdarena, following the plan's compliance rules (materials provided: PUC excerpts, Liguria Regional Law 16/2008 on usable floor area and settlement-use indexes, 1:5,000 mapping): an early-20th-century residential fabric with historic remnants (holiday palaces), the via Rolando shopping street, schools, the Sampierdarena railway station, via Cantore and the nearby Fiumara mall. THEME 2 — a civic library in an eastern-Liguria town, on a services lot next to a watercourse (15 m minimum distance for new buildings, no basements allowed), two storeys high, with lobby and cloakroom, reading and periodicals rooms, archive, staff and public toilets and a small café point, complying with rules on energy saving, renewables and architectural barriers. THEME 3 — the residential recovery of an old three-storey rural building (oven, stable and cellar at ground floor, two flats above, long used as a warehouse) into one or two units of the candidate's choice, with a possible 20% volumetric extension of the gross habitable area: attention to vertical circulation (internal or external), justified changes to structure and openings and the extension's choices; the report also asks for specification items for works on the existing structures and the technical specs of the extension.

A sealed envelope with three alternative practical-exam themes (Section A, 5 hours): three refurbishments of existing buildings, each with given structural constraints (a structure to keep and to treat as seismically adequate) and the linked first written test (justify the design and construction choices). The candidate must organise functions and spaces respecting the given structure, external perimeter and maximum height. THEME 1 — a municipal building of about 240 sqm in a residential area, from the 1960s, in mixed masonry and reinforced concrete: refurbishment into a neighbourhood service holding a library and a playroom, using an existing mezzanine at the rear and possibly keeping or relocating the ground-floor services and heating plant, with facade changes allowed. THEME 2 — the ground floor (about 400 sqm, 3.50 m high) of a building with a social centre already active upstairs, freed by the relocation of a shop: a functional expansion of the centre (library, bar, offices, services) with a seismically adequate reinforced-concrete structure, coordinating with the upstairs gym, clinic and other spaces and with the basement store. THEME 3 — a two-storey rural masonry farmhouse: refurbishment into a farm-stay with the manager's flat, three guest rooms with bathrooms and a dining room with a kitchen of at least 20 sqm. Shared deliverables: a furnished, dimensioned 1:100 plan, 1:100 elevations and section, and a significant construction detail (1:20), which may be integrated with sketches and perspective drawings.

A sealed envelope with three alternative practical-exam themes (Section A, 2015): all three sit on the same site — the former A.M.T. bus depot on via Maddaloni in Genoa, to be imagined fully demolished — asking for three different transformations, with the shared warning that the area is at flood risk and must be designed with suitable solutions. THEME 1 — an open-access library over several floors, with a detailed programme: lobby, a selection/consultation/lending area (450 sqm), a reading area (400 sqm), a periodicals room, a study area, an archive (300 sqm), a media library, offices, a refreshment area, toilets, a 100-seat conference hall usable outside the library service, and covered staff parking; the written test asks for the conference hall sizing at 1:50. THEME 2 — a multi-storey residential complex in one or more volumes, with a total volume no greater than 16,000 cubic metres; the written test asks for the typical-flat sizing at 1:50. THEME 3 — the residential urban development of the area under three alternative floor-area ratios (1.00 / 1.25 / 1.50), with the provision of planning standards (12 sqm/inhabitant of equipped greenery, 3 for common-interest uses, 3 for public parking, plus private parking): a comparative assessment of the three solutions and the chosen one developed as a 1:500 site-volume plan with 1:200 sections and elevations. Deliverables: 1:100 plans, elevations and sections for the buildings; a 1:500/1:200 site-volume plan and layout scheme for the urban study.

A sealed envelope with three alternative practical-exam themes (Section A, November session), each with its linked first written test. THEME 1 — on an elongated peripheral lot along a secondary street (54×20 m), an in-line residential building with a ground floor usable for retail and tertiary activities: depth no more than 13 m, eaves height no more than 13.50 m, at least 12 dwellings, two entrances with their stairs per group of flats, a pavement on the street and a possible rear pedestrian path; the written test asks for the structural sizing of some parts. THEME 2 — on a 120×60 m lot at the crossing of two neighbourhood streets, a small neighbourhood culture centre of about 900 sqm covered: entrance hall with info point, an events space of at least 150 sqm, a large library reading room, two offices, a screening room and internet corner, media consultation, storage and plant rooms, toilets and an automated café; an outdoor area with a rack for at least 20 bikes, five disabled parking spaces, a garden, a paved open-air reading area, a portico and a roof terrace accessible to all; the written test asks for an approximate bill of quantities. THEME 3 — on a large peripheral lot of about 15,000 sqm between three streets, a layout of collective functions and public greenery: at least 70% holds a sports centre, fenced and 50% covered with wide-span structures (hall, info and public services with a café ≥80 sqm, two pairs of changing rooms, two five-a-side pitches and a covered multi-purpose court or a gym), with greenery and pedestrian routes, taxi and bus stops, a cycle path, disabled parking and car parking; the written test asks for the sizing of the main structural system. Shared deliverables: general site plans and details at progressive scales (from 1:5000/1:2000 to 1:500), a 1:200 project extract with plans, sections and elevations, technological details and three-dimensional drawings. Transparency note: the university does not publish the exam texts; this sheet is reconstructed from a preparation archive (source below), with the usual editorial summary.

The practical exam of 26/06/2008 (Section A, old system, 8 hours): three alternative themes, each developed with preparatory sketches, plans, elevations, sections and details at suitable scales. THEME 1 — on a flat area 75 m up, on a cliff over the sea, a church of 200 usable sqm with a 60 sqm sacristy (WC, parlour) and a bell tower, plus a pilgrim house of about 80 sqm (meeting room, refreshments, toilets, assistance), joined by an open-air churchyard; masonry or reinforced-concrete structures, roofs in RC, steel or glulam, with possible outdoor spaces for open-air rites. THEME 2 — the landscaping of an enlarged neighbourhood park: resolve the link between the existing park and the new area, separated by a 10 m level change (altering or removing the retaining wall), create equipped greenery with an open-air theatre for about 200 seats screened from the street, a green area for pedestrian access and a car park, specifying paving, trees and fencing. THEME 3 — in an existing district, on a 20×30 m site surrounded by streets, a residential service (civic centre) with a 150-200 seat multipurpose hall (assemblies, conferences, screenings, theatre, exhibitions, library and newspaper room), an office for social services, a group meeting room, a soundproofed music room, a lobby and rest area, services and a heating plant, stating the main planning indices. Deliverables per theme: from the 1:500/1:200 site plan to 1:100 plans, elevations and sections, with construction details and a statement of structures and materials. Transparency note: the university does not publish the exam texts; this sheet is reconstructed from a preparation archive (source below), with the usual editorial summary.