A new youth education center has opened in Milan's Gallaratese neighborhood, marking the first ground-up construction project by the international NGO Save the Children in Italy. The innovative circular building, designed by Milan-based architecture firm AOUMM, serves as the latest addition to Save the Children's network of 27 socio-educational centers operating under the "Punto Luce" (Points of Light) initiative across Italy.
The asymmetrical rotunda sits within a loosely developed residential quarter that includes notable housing complexes from the second half of the 20th century, including the Monte Amiata residential complex by renowned architects Aldo Rossi and Carlo Aymonino. The single-story, five-meter-high structure replaced a deteriorated prefabricated building that previously occupied the 3,000-square-meter site, with the new facility built directly on the foundation of the demolished structure.
AOUMM designed the ring-shaped wooden building to encompass 620 square meters of gross floor area, featuring a central courtyard accessible through two passages from the street. The completely open floor plan accommodates educational laboratories, music and digital rooms, and a teaching kitchen, creating a hierarchy-free, integrative, and stimulating environment where various activities can take place simultaneously. A 70-square-meter independent room, flanked by the two entrance passages, provides space for local community organizations.
The construction utilized prefabricated components made from glued laminated timber and sandwich panels, enabling completion within one year. The builders employed various types of untreated, PEFC-certified wood throughout the project: fir for the columns and load-bearing structure, and Okoumé and larch for the exterior cladding. The geometry of the green roof, which cantilevers over the building volume on both sides and houses a photovoltaic system, was specifically designed to shade the south facade during summer months.
Sustainability features include skylights that reduce the need for artificial lighting and an automated natural ventilation system controlled by sensors that monitor temperature, humidity, and CO₂ levels. Floor-to-ceiling vertical windows open the building to both the courtyard and surrounding environment, creating connections to outdoor spaces that serve as direct extensions of the interior rooms and occupy approximately 2,100 square meters of the site area.
The outdoor areas, designed in collaboration with PN Studio's Francesca Neonato from Milan, include diverse play and recreation areas as well as an educational garden for environmental learning. These carefully planned exterior spaces complement the building's mission of providing free educational opportunities to children and young people in socially disadvantaged urban areas, demonstrating how thoughtful architecture can support community development and social integration.
