Header: Alessandra Bello
Ever imagine a nursery school inspired by Noah’s Ark? It just makes sense. Meet Noah’s Ark Nursery School in Alzano Lombardo in Lombardy, where design firm C+S Architects brings the tenderness of a childhood memory and the richness of local heritage together.
Set within the heritage-protected Villa Paglia park, this project was based on balancing personal narrative with environmental context from the outset, while paying homage to the town’s industrial past and creating a learning space where imagination and materiality intersect.
The school’s design concept begins with a childhood memory of Maria Alessandra Segantini, CEO, Co-Founder, and Creative Director of C+S Architects. She recounts playing with Enzo Mari’s wooden animal puzzle as a child, finding joy in the tactility of each piece and assembling them to make a complete picture.
From this simple recollection, the idea for Noah’s Ark Nursery School took shape, envisioned as a contemporary ark where children, animals, and nature coexist.
“I proposed to the team to engrave those animals along the path that leads to the school, as if the school became a contemporary Noah’s Ark that saves the world… and where everyone, animals, children, plants embrace each other.” — Maria Alessandra Segantini
Given Villa Paglia park’s location and topography, building within the site posed significant design challenges: sloping terrain, strict preservation regulations, and the task of inserting a new 3,380 m² building into the historically significant 15,865 m² park without disrupting its scale.
Embracing these site conditions, the design team devised a low, elongated pavilion that traces the land’s natural contours. The Noah’s Ark narrative takes form in the red concrete retaining wall, inspired by Val Seriana construction techniques and engraved with Enzo Mari’s animals, welcoming children into the school like a playful threshold.
Beyond the red concrete wall, the dialogue continues as the school’s spaces and materials reveal their heritage roots at every step. Bronze-framed windows honour local Lombard craftsmanship, while the white glass mosaic walls celebrate the region’s traditional use of concrete through the years.
Through the shed skylights, classrooms are bathed in natural light, promoting transparency, intervisibility, and social learning, with the central hall serving as a communal “piazza” connecting classrooms and community activities.
Paired with energy-efficient systems, the school’s design blends light, materials, and space to create a sustainable and inspiring environment for all. One where learning and play merge to connect children with their community and one another.
“We have designed a ‘space of potential’, where every space can be transformed by the creativity of the teachers or the community that revolves around it. — Carlo Cappai”
Noah’s Ark Nursery embodies how architecture can merge memory and place, translating both personal memory and regional heritage into a cohesive learning environment. It stands as a model for early education spaces, where past narratives shape future communities and learning for generations to come.
