*2.2. Regulatory Overview and In-Depth Analysis of the Main Italian Legislative Measures for School Construction*

As previously specified, in Italy, since the 1970s, there have been many legislative measures in the field of school building aimed at providing planning and/or design indications for the execution of interventions on existing schools, preferring a problem-solving-based approach, and not one of integration and compensation between multiple effects deriving from the same settlement transformation intervention. The main reference standard documents currently in force (2019) for school building are the:


the management of interventions on school building at national and regional level is carried out, is established;


These standards can be used as a reference both for existing buildings and new constructions. From each one, the technical-regulatory objectives to be pursued can be defined, and the corresponding parameters (Evaluation Criteria) can be identified with which one it is possible to express the degree of achievement of each objective.

Table 1 shows some of the main regulatory references in the field of Italian school buildings. The basic purpose is described for each of them, and the corresponding evaluation criteria is specified with which one can express the level of conformity between the actual state of the school building and the legal requirements to be complied with. With respect to the list of normative references described above, in Table 1 the normative references containing provisions for Italian school field still in force are taken into consideration.


**Table 1.** Main regulatory references for Italian school buildings and corresponding evaluation criteria.

Description of the Information Contained in the Data Sheet for School Buildings

Among the normative references illustrated above, the Law n◦ 23/1996 (Norms on school building) underlines the necessity to carry out a planning phase of interventions aimed at the conservation of the

existing building considering the survey about the characteristics of the school structures in use and of the urban context. Through this law, the *Anagrafe Regionale dell'Edilizia Scolastica* (ARES) is established with the aim of systematizing the information system on the regional school property assets.

Each region and autonomous province independently manages access to ARES, and the provinces and municipalities are responsible for compiling, updating and implementing the data collection forms for each individual school building. This was done through direct surveys and inspections conducted at the school of interest.

The module for collecting data on school buildings contained the elements needed to acquire information ascertained through the completion of two questionnaires:

(i) *Questionario Edificio* (QE), aimed at collecting elements to evaluate quantitatively and qualitatively the school in use;

(ii) *Questionario istituzione scolastica*, aimed at collecting information on individual school units, i.e., whether or not there are several school units in the same building, what type and how they are organised.

The data that can be deduced from (i) on the school building are summarized in the Appendix of *Questionario Edificio* in ARES by Law 23/1996. For a more detailed specification, please refer to the Instruction Manual of QE in ARES for the compilation of the school building stock survey sheets.

In order to have a clear view of the current state of the suitability of the school building for its functions when new work is to be carried out on the building, the relevant data which are particularly interesting include the most recent work on the structure (Point 9.0—Subsequent transformations). For each intervention, it is important to establish the intervention class and the execution year. The classes of intervention referred to in the survey, aimed at determining the state of maintenance, and consequently the level of adequacy of the building to the functions for which the building is intended, both from the technological point of view and in terms of amount of space, are:


The state of maintenance regarding the building works and systems (Point 13.0—State of conservation) is evaluated qualitatively by attributing a score according to the following classification: 6 = does not require any intervention; 5 = requires partial maintenance; 4 = requires complete maintenance; 3 = requires replacement or partial refurbishment; 2 = requires replacement or complete refurbishment; 1 = requires ex-novo installation; X = system is not necessary;

The functional and dimensional characteristics of the rooms include the location, functional destination, size of the rooms on each floor of the building, shape (when the floor plan of a room is clearly different from a rectangular square, and it is difficult to carry out the educational activities), natural and artificial lighting, hygienic conditions (dependent not on poor cleaning but on a physical deficiency of the inner shell), and the acoustic conditions of each space.

Depending on the observations and specifications previously made, it is clear that in order to plan interventions on existing school buildings, it is necessary to comply with a number of regulatory requirements, and to obtain information on the building to be recovered. In general, the information concerning the school structure can be of various types. Each one regards a specific school aspect, both technical and organizational-functional, especially regarding the way in which the available space is used.

On the basis of the information system proposed by Law 23/1996, it can be observed, however, that the phase of reconnaissance of the state concerning the school building does not include the acquisition of data in the urban context.

With reference to the Constitutional Court (judgments 62/2013, 284/2016 and, lastly, 71/2018), within the discipline on school buildings "more subjects intersect, such as "territorial governance", "energy" and "civil protection". Thus, the proposed evaluation methodology, as specified in the following paragraph, aims to jointly consider regulatory aspects, school building features, and characteristics of the territory.

Some of the information illustrated in Table 2 is identified from the data list contained in *Questionario Edificio*. For each one, an alternative reference document to the QE is indicated, from which the data relating to the information to be quantified can be extrapolated. This is with a view to creating an information system useful for the planning and execution of projects that respect the characteristics of the building to be recovered, and that can also satisfy the citizens' needs in view of the distinctive characteristics of the local economy expressed in terms of existing services and those potentially settled in the area. In order to establish what further activities can be offered to the community by taking advantage of the internal spaces and connected externally to the school, it is necessary to identify the users' class to which the type of service provided is allocated (as specified in the following Section 3.1.2).

### **3. Evaluation Framework**

The proposed evaluation method seeks to verify the technical, regulatory and management conditions of existing school buildings (especially with regard to the use of available space for educational activities) in order to plan transformation and/or conservation activities, not only observing the regulatory requirements in force and the physical characteristics of the building, but also the needs of the community.

The method consists of two steps: (a) knowledge phase, (b) evaluation phase. In the first phase, the reference legislation is analyzed, and technical-management information on the school is collected. In the second phase, the regulatory requirements are verified, and the main methods of intervention are defined. This is with regard to both the physical and management system of the building and the services that the school can offer to the community.

Figure 1 shows the outline of the proposed evaluation methodology and highlights the mutual relations between each of its sub-phases. The diagram in Figure 1 aims to graphically illustrate how the physical and functional characteristics of the school buildings are checked and evaluated in accordance with the reference regulations, as well as to program interventions compatible with existing community's needs. Compatibility and consistency assessments provide useful information on the types of interventions to be implemented for the renovation/recovery of the building.

Each step (knowledge phase and evaluation phase) is made of specific sub-phases analysed in the following.
