Palazzo Gulinelli – binariolab

Ferrara
2015 / 2019

Client: Don Cipriano Canonici Mattei Opera Foundation

“Leadership in Design Performance” 2021 Green Building Council Italia

Fotografie: Elena Romani / Daniele Fazzari / archivio binariolab

• Architectural design

• Structural design

• Safety coordination during design and execution

• Works Management

• Fire prevention design

• LEED Historic Building GBC Environmental Sustainability Protocol Application

Palazzo Gulinelli

School headquarters “Smiling International School”

The building, which had been rendered unusable by an earthquake in 2012, has undergone architectural restoration and seismic consolidation and improvement.

The architectural restoration project was designed to make the historic building overlooking Corso Ercole I d’Este comply with current legislation and new modes of use, without neglecting its historical-artistic features.

Although the original layout dates back to 1500, the building has undergone several changes over its lifetime; its current appearance, which has been restored, dates back to 1800.

All the design choices followed the sustainable restoration guidelines contained in the GBC Historic Building LEED quality certification protocol, using for example wood fibre, sheep's wool, and raw earth and lime-based plasters. The design was awarded Gold certification and became a case study.

From a technological point of view, the focus is on maximum reversibility, through the use of dry technologies; one of these is X-LAM technology, which is functional from both a structural and environmental sustainability point of view. Finally, thanks to the energy upgrading intervention, energy savings have been implemented in excess of 30%.