Single- and two-family house

Graphic test of the 2026 first session, sat on 27 July 2026 over eight hours. Two briefs, both with a highly detailed functional programme. BRIEF 1 — A small school for dance and the performing arts, holding together teaching, research and performance. The programme calls for six dance studios of about 150 sqm each, designed for both teaching and performance and made flexible by sliding partitions able to group them into at least two clusters, forming spaces for collective performance; plus changing rooms and services, ten small teaching studies, a library-archive of about 100 sqm, a bar corner and five offices with an independent entrance. The piece that governs the project, however, is a 250-seat theatre with an independent entrance, which may sit at basement level provided it is served by a sunken courtyard giving direct access from outside. The site is flat, with no particular constraints and no height limit; the permissible gross floor area is about 4,000 sqm over at least two levels. At least three courtyards are required, declared as the way to bring nature into the architecture and countable within the gross area. The board recommends — without making it binding — using Le Corbusier's Modulor as a harmonic proportioning system, attaching the numeric scheme of the red and blue series to the brief. BRIEF 2 — A house-museum with an exhibition space and atelier for an artist, where the real subject is the coexistence of private life and public opening: an independent entrance and guaranteed privacy during social events and exhibitions. The layout is free — courtyard, separate pavilions connected by covered and air-conditioned passages, or mixed — with a first floor and, optionally, a basement with a sunken courtyard cutting through several levels. The programme includes a full living zone, a specialist zone (museum-atelier with service) either integrated or entirely independent, four bedrooms and three bathrooms, with two singles joinable by a sliding partition. Vertical circulation is itself a design theme: stair, ramp between 8% and 14%, or cordonata, understood as a promenade architecturale, with double heights in the main spaces and a daylighting system studied for the exhibition area. There are no height or size constraints, but the project area is limited to 42 × 59.4 metres — that is, an A2 sheet at 1:100. A garden surrounds the house, with a landscape idea drawn in plan and continuous with the building.

A single envelope with three alternative six-hour design themes, each followed by a written technical report on compositional, structural, distributive and technological choices. THEME 1 — a three-storey terraced single-family house on a 5.20 × 15.60 m urban lot, built against two existing identical terraced houses, accessed from the street on the short side with a garden and fountain at the rear; max height 12 m. THEME 2 — a single-storey detached villa on a 35.50 × 17.76 m suburban lot: 30% coverage ratio, 0.7 cum/sqm index, 3 m from boundaries and 10 m from the road, max height 6 m with a pitched roof, one tree per 10 sqm of covered area, garden, drive, parking for two cars, fence, fountain and sculpture. THEME 3 — a small town hall (10 × 24 m lot, 3 storeys, max 16 m, flat roof, mandatory portico facing the square) and a 24 × 24 m pedestrian square: full civic programme (council chamber, offices, registry, archive, public desks and toilets, stairs and lifts) plus square design (trees, flowerbeds, benches, fountain, monument). All three require the dimensioned 1:20 floor-to-sky section with a materials-and-technologies legend.

An envelope with two alternative six-hour design themes, each with a written technical report on compositional, structural, distributive and technological choices. THEME 1 — a single-storey two-family detached villa with an open internal courtyard on a 38.50 × 38.50 m suburban lot: 10 m from boundaries and road, max height 7 m (roof included) with a pitched roof, one tree per 10 sqm of covered area, garden, drive, parking for at least two cars, fence, fountain and sculpture. THEME 2 — a detached multi-family block of three storeys plus a ground-floor pilotis level, on a 31.00 × 28.60 m suburban lot: a pilotis parking level at grade, at least two apartments per upper floor of differing sizes, an accessible and walkable flat roof, max height 15 m, with a rear garden and fence. Both require the dimensioned 1:20 floor-to-sky section with a materials, structure and technologies legend.

The brief asks for a villa for an artist — sculptor, painter or musician — on the Trieste Carso, with the explicit option of building it as a prefabricated system. The plot is partly developable and partly agricultural, bounded by dry-stone walls protected as pre-twentieth-century features, and falls within a landscape protection area under article 136 of the Cultural Heritage Code, in a context described as a “transitional landscape”. The stated aim is a new-build that carries the personality of someone who wants a unique artefact while staying within the canons of respect for the territory. The design must address five things: the plan layout of the new building, the application of the provisions on removing architectural barriers in private buildings with explicit reference to law 13 of 1989, the external landscaping, the furniture layout studied around the scenic viewpoints of the surroundings, and the construction details. The planning parameters are given: minimum plot of 800 sqm for new construction, floor space index no greater than 0.8 cbm/sqm, building coverage no greater than 30%, maximum height 7.50 m and a distance of at least 10 m between windowed walls and the walls of facing buildings.

Practical test of the 2025 second session, sat on 14 November 2025 at the Santa Maria Capua Vetere site. Brief from Envelope 1: a two-family house with a central courtyard on a flat 30 × 30 metre lot, in a peri-urban setting bounded by roads on every side. The scheme calls for two dwellings over two storeys above ground (ground and first floor), with separate entrances and independent outdoor spaces, organised around a shared or semi-shared internal courtyard. The requirement that gives the brief its character is that both dwellings derive from a single block and keep an overall coherence of language: not two houses set side by side, but one volume that allows itself to be divided. The courtyard may be paved or planted. The project must comply with current rules on boundary setbacks — five metres — and accessibility. The plot ratio is 1.2 cubic metres per square metre and the maximum height 7.5 metres. Together this data all but settles the matter before any drawing begins: with a lot ringed by roads and a five-metre setback on every front, the buildable footprint is essentially given, and the available volume follows directly from the ratio. The first move in this test is arithmetic, not compositional — and from there the subject becomes how to fit two decent dwellings inside an envelope already decided.

On a plot of about 7,800 sqm in an agricultural zone, the track asks for the NEW-BUILD design of a single-family house and two service buildings. House programme: three bedrooms, three bathrooms, kitchen, pantry, dining and living rooms, laundry and plant room, with a main and a service entrance, on one or two storeys. Detached service buildings: one (about 100 sqm) for two cars and farm equipment, the second (about 50 sqm) with free use. Design data: gross floor area 270 sqm, max height 7.5 m, max 2 storeys, distance from road > 15 m, from boundaries ≥ 5 m, 3 uncovered parking spaces. The session includes the linked first written test: criteria and structural sizing rationale for the practical-test design.

The brief starts from a halted building site: of a residential building with a 15 x 6 m footprint developed on the east-west axis, only the foundation (a 16 x 7 m reinforced concrete raft) and the ground-floor structural frame have been built. The candidate must design its completion, setting out room sizing, openings and daylight/ventilation ratios, functional uses, clear heights and the distribution layout. The construction system is fixed and must be taken as given: reinforced concrete columns and beams, clay-and-concrete floor slabs, flat roof. The programme spreads the house over two levels — living areas on the ground floor (dining, living, kitchenette, entrance, laundry and garage), sleeping areas on the first floor with at least two bedrooms, one of them a double, and two bathrooms, one en-suite to the master bedroom. The session includes the linked first written test, which asks for the bill of quantities for one of three options: ground junction, intermediate floor or roof.

In the residential district by Modena's new racetrack, the track asks for two mirrored dwellings (a two-family building) with a shared spine wall on plot 281. Local plan rules: max 2 storeys + ground floor, net storey height 3 m, footprint at least 5 m from boundaries, covered garage for at least one car. Layout: ground floor with garage, external plant room and integrated living area with a covered outdoor terrace; first floor with three double bedrooms (master with en-suite and walk-in wardrobe) and a windowed bathroom; second floor with a multi-purpose room, solar greenhouse and terrace. Regional energy rules (DGR 967/2015) impose the nZEB standard: highly insulated envelope, at least 1 kWp of solar generation per unit, care for orientation and summer shading. Linked first written test: structural-system criteria and sizing rationale.

A sealed envelope with two alternative practical-exam themes (Section A, 2024). THEME 1 — the new construction of a detached house on a lot of about 1,000 sqm in a municipality of Trieste province, for a family of four, with a pool and relaxation area in the basement and two possibly-covered parking spaces, complying with the B3 zone parameters of the town plan (floor-area ratio 0.8, coverage ratio 30%, maximum height 7.50 m, distances of 5 m from boundaries, 10 m from buildings, 5 m from roads); required are a 1:200 site plan with external works, dimensioned 1:100 ground-floor and basement plans with building and health parameters, at least one 1:100 section and at least two elevations with materials. THEME 2 — an urban recovery in Trieste's centre, at the edge of the walled city: a residual space left by unfinished works, at the junction between the pedestrianised Cittàvecchia district and the 19th-century Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia, to be turned into a public space. The urban-scale design defines a square — with a site-volume plan for the buildings to rebuild or complete, pedestrian and green areas, street furniture, traffic (including emergency access), disabled accessibility, rainwater management and lighting — and includes a small kiosk (florist, newsagent, small bar). Deliverables: a 1:500 site plan, a 1:200 plan of the square and one of its sections, and the kiosk's 1:50 plan, section and elevations.

On flat land in an agricultural zone (a plot of about 2.2 hectares, bordered to the north-west by a watercourse and to the south-east by a road), the track asks for the design of a single-family house plus two service buildings through demolition and reconstruction with enlargement. Programme: three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a single kitchen-living-dining space, laundry and a plant room, on one or two storeys. The service buildings must be detached: one (about 105 sqm) for two cars and small farm equipment, the second (about 40 sqm) with free use. Design data: gross floor area of the house 270 sqm, maximum height 7.5 m, maximum 2 storeys, distance from the road ≥ 20 m, from boundaries ≥ 5 m, 3 uncovered private parking spaces.

A sealed envelope with three alternative practical-exam themes (Section A, 5 hours): three small public or receptive buildings where architectural quality matters, each with its linked written test and an explicit request for at least one three-dimensional representation. THEME 1 — on a 30 m square empty flat lot, an artists' space hosting, on a yearly rotation, the winner of a call: a workshop of about 80 sqm within the visitor route, an exhibition space of about 200 sqm always open with half its area double-height, visitor toilets and a mini-loft dwelling (≤80 sqm); ground footprint max 200 sqm, height max 10 m, aiming at a neutral, flexible backdrop. THEME 2 — the new vertical access to the town fortress, the local tourist heart, on a steep slope: on an already-built foundation platform (8×8 m reinforced concrete) an iconic tower (max height 16 m, minimum floor-to-floor 3 m) with a panoramic ascent (stairs and lift), ticket office and services on the ground floor, an events hall ≥40 sqm, the keeper's dwelling, a café overlooking the town and a panoramic terrace from which an aerial link reaches the fortress. THEME 3 — a small receptive building in a continuous terrace (lot 8.5×14 m, abutting on both sides), with fronts west onto the pedestrian street and east onto a 10 m-deep inner court: at least eight rooms (4+4) with private baths over two levels, a ground floor for reception, services and breakfast, and a manager's flat (≥80 sqm) on the top floor; eaves height on the street 9 m (max 13 m), with attention to the stone context of the adjoining buildings. Shared deliverables: a three-dimensional representation, a significant section, elevations and plans 1:100, and the construction detail of the ground and roof nodes attentive to energy containment (1:20).

A sealed envelope with three alternative practical-exam themes (Section A, 5 hours): three takes on the single-family house, each set by a different site constraint, with the linked first written test (justify the choices, the construction system and the structural sizing). All three share the same rooms (living with kitchen or kitchenette, one bath on the entrance floor to be shown accessible to disabled users, a store, a double bedroom, a twin room, a second bath; at least one bath with a window and one with a tub), and require stating areas, window sizes and compliance with daylight/ventilation ratios. THEME 1 — on a flat 8.5×22 m north-south lot, a house built to the boundary on the east and west sides (blind facades, to allow the adjoining terraces) and keeping minimum distances north and south; entrance and garage off the north street, the garage in a detached body at least 3 m away; maximum eaves height 8.5 m. THEME 2 — on a steep site (7 m drop between the uphill north side and the downhill south), a lot projecting 18×16 m with access from the uphill road, the preferred view toward the valley and a rock slope of good bearing: massing no more than 3 m above the access-road level, minimum distances from the boundaries except the north, a covered parking space on the entrance floor. THEME 3 — on a flat 22×22 m lot, a patio house with an inner court of at least 6×6 m, a garage and a maximum eaves height of 8.5 m. Shared deliverables: 1:100 plans with external works, 1:100 section and 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, 5 hours): three residential types in the Emilia-Romagna area, each with explicit planning parameters to verify in a table and the linked first written test (justify the design and construction choices). THEME 1 — a residential building with terraced units, two storeys above ground and a garage (also basement), on a rectangular 80×40 m lot in a medium-sized urban settlement: west side on the main street, east side opening onto a public park; floor-area ratio Uf max 0.5 sqm/sqm, eaves height max 8.50 m, minimum permeable surface 50%, boundary distance 5 m. THEME 2 — a detached block single-family house on two floors with a garage (also as a separate body), on a 10×35 m lot in a seaside town, for a household of four: gross floor area between 150 and 200 sqm, eaves height max 7.50 m, minimum permeable surface 50%. THEME 3 — a settlement of patio houses with garages, as the expansion of a coastal urban core, with a proposed aggregation in rows of 6-8 units on a 140×50 m lot. All themes require stating uses and daylight/ventilation ratios, with the parameters verified in a table. Shared deliverables: a 1:200 or 1:100 site scheme with external works, plans of at least two units at all levels 1:100 with structural elements and dimensions, a section and at least two significant elevations 1:100, and the construction detail of the roof in relation to the facade (1:20).

A sealed envelope with three alternative practical-exam themes (Section A, 20 June 2013), each with existing-state drawings and a short written report. THEME 1 — the recovery of a building, originally a residential villa later extended with added bodies, into the town hall with its offices: a general refurbishment that enhances the main body and reorders or demolishes the accretions (maximum 20% volume increase), inserting multipurpose social spaces with teaching rooms, a conference space for at least 50 seats, an exhibition space, gathering spaces and offices, with full accessibility for public buildings and by opening the inner courtyard to the public, linked to a pedestrian square. THEME 2 — a new residential building for the managers of a farm-stay business in the Apennines behind Genoa: a maximum usable area of 118 sqm (per Regional Law 16/2008), a 7 m eaves height and at most two levels, with a double bedroom, a twin and a single room, bathrooms, kitchen, living-dining room and storage, blending visually with the existing farm complex and meeting adaptability per Ministerial Decree 236/1989. THEME 3 — the renovation of an urban flat (reinforced-concrete structure, cavity perimeter walls, systems and finishes to be redone) for a family with two children, one severely disabled: the reorganisation provides a room for the disabled child with space for nursing staff and an equipped bathroom with a bathtub accessible on three sides, ensuring the assistance areas are not hospital-like but stay residential and comfortable. Deliverables: a 1:100 building design with functions and areas, significant elevations and sections, an existing-vs-project comparison plan, a 1:20 bathroom plan, and the report on systems and on energy-consumption containment.

A practical-exam track for the Junior Architect (Section B): on a rectangular lot with a 30 m front on the main street and a 40 m depth, design a house-workshop combining a dwelling and a work space sized for varied activities (creative, artisan, productive). The dwelling, about 120 sqm over two levels, has on the ground floor an entrance, living-dining room, kitchen, WC and storeroom, and on the first floor two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The workshop, functionally linked to the duplex, is at least 60 sqm with a height twice that of the residential floor, with a possible mezzanine and internal double height, and holds the work space, a small office and toilets. The candidate must state the structural grid and handle the relationship between the residential and productive parts. Deliverables: a 1:200 site plan with the external green layout and the minimum parking; 1:100 plans of the two levels with the structural grid; a significant 1:100 longitudinal section through the internal stair; two 1:100 elevations; possible construction details, freehand allowed. 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.

First practical test of the 2012 first session, sat on 19 June 2012 (Architect N.O. qualification). Three themes to choose from, deliberately covering three different crafts: serial aggregation, collective housing and structural restoration. THEME A — A complex of terraced houses on a rectangular, gently sloping 4,000 sqm lot. Each unit measures 5.80 × 11.90 metres and rises over at least three levels, one of them below ground; the structure is reinforced concrete. Perimeter and internal circulation are left to the candidate: the theme is therefore as much about site layout as about typology. THEME B — A multi-family residence with several duplex units of about 95 sqm, served by an access gallery, over at least three storeys above ground. The lot is rectangular, 2,000 sqm, gently sloping, and the depth of the building block is set at around 11 metres. The brief explicitly asks for particular attention to privacy — which, with gallery access, is the critical weakness of the type. THEME C — Restoration and seismic improvement of a three-nave, three-apsed Romanesque church: the only one of the three themes shifting the centre of gravity from new design to diagnosis of the existing fabric and the relationship between heritage protection and structural safety. On the same day the first written test asked for a technical-descriptive report on the project — with reference to planning standards — as an alternative to a structural report.