Located on the San Carlo Bastion, surrounded by greenery and guarded by the Tower of San Pancrazio above, the “Attilio Mereu” Outdoor School is a public building designed by Ubaldo Badas in 1933 during the fascist regime. It is one of the first rationalist buildings in the city, created to accommodate and improve the living conditions of children with lung diseases, in need of light and air. This was also the first project completed by Badas, who thus launched his career as a designer. In 1935, the magazine Architettura italiana dedicated an article to him that highlighted his peculiarities and gave prominence to Badas’s early work in the city.
Semicircular volumes are the hallmark of the building: they emerge in the central body of the entrance, located between the two main classrooms, and are repeated in the adjacent volume, creating a dynamic visual rhythm. The curved forms soften the confrontation with the severe walls of the rampart, establishing a dialogue between the lightness of the project and the solidity of the historical context. The varying height of the volumes reflects a precise functionalist logic: lower service spaces, while those intended for communal activities rise to accommodate natural light from above, making the environment brighter and more welcoming.
The building continued to serve its function until 1999 and, after years of neglect and abandonment, was fully restored and returned to its original form, returning to the city a place that represented one of the most innovative educational institutions of the first half of the ‘9oo.
