Spazio Elementare – Urban Park in Rivarolo Canavese
The project originated from a design competition launched by Municipality of Rivarolo Canavese in 2018. Following the competition’s conclusion, the winning team was commissioned to carry out the subsequent design phases and oversee construction management.
The intervention addresses the need to reconfigure the space previously occupied by the former elementary school, which was planned to become a new urban park. The demolition of the building would have created an urban void requiring a renewed formal and functional identity. The aim was to create a new civic gathering place that, in harmony with the surrounding urban context, could offer services and opportunities to the local community. Through aesthetic, functional, and environmental regeneration, the project has established a system of spaces that promote social interaction and enable citizens to experience public space in diverse ways and at all times of day.
The design of the new park is structured around a system of axes that reconnect the site with the surrounding urban fabric and nearby public buildings. To establish a network of interconnected spaces, the green areas—shaped by a curvilinear path system—expand and narrow across the site, engaging with the various functions housed within the park. A secondary axis crosses the area, serving as the main route for pedestrian and bicycle circulation.
The presence of green spaces, sports areas, and outdoor play zones expands opportunities for socializing, creating a cohesive environment with differentiated areas for multiple uses. This layout fosters intergenerational interaction and social inclusion.
The site features green mounds of varying heights, with tiered concrete benches integrated into the park’s main activity zones.
Transforming what was once a sealed, impermeable surface, the new park reintroduces permeable, water-draining surfaces and numerous newly planted trees. These interventions provide significant environmental benefits, enhancing users’ quality of life. Moreover, the park plays a key role in supporting the local ecological network, significantly increasing green space compared to its previous state and strengthening ecological connectivity within the urban landscape.
Project Data
Designers: abp architetti
Year completed: 2020
Photo credits: abp architetti
Manufacturer of urban or play equipment: Metalco s.r.l. (https://www.metalco.it/), Holzhof s.r.l. (https://www.holzhof.com/), RC Luce s.r.l. (https://www.rcluce.com/)
