New Campus di Bologna Business School by MCA Mario Cucinella Architects

The campus project arises from the need to create new educational and shared spaces for the Bologna Business School, revitalising a historically significant site and integrating new cultural and environmental functions. This university hub, located in the hills of Bologna, emerges from the redevelopment of several buildings already present on the site owned by the Bologna Business School Foundation.

The new configuration makes it possible to rethink the distribution of the services currently hosted in Villa Guastavillani, a landmark of the campus, by including new facilities. The project aims to enhance the whole potential of the area and its territorial connections, giving the school an international scope.

Photo © Walter Vecchio

The architectural project
Combining the redevelopment and functional integration of the buildings with the surrounding environment, the new focal point on the ridge of the hill seamlessly integrates with nature and the landscape.

The project has a “light touch,” with indoor and outdoor spaces blending seamlessly, allowing for maximum enjoyment of the views and a wide range of outdoor activities. Additionally, the new campus connects to Villa Guastavillani via a rectilinear direct pedestrian route, ensuring visual and physical continuity that creates a constant dialogue between the present and the past.

Photo © Walter Vecchio

The two most architecturally valuable buildings, the farmhouse and the former oven, have been restored to accommodate some of the campus services. The farmhouse houses flexible classrooms for lectures and study, offices, and a meeting room, while the former oven hosts a reception area to guide students within the university grounds.

Three other buildings on the site have been reconfigured into a single functional block that will host the main educational activities. The new part, which consists of two floors with a large basement, is connected to the farmhouse via an underground tunnel, ensuring under-cover continuity between the academic spaces.

Photo © Walter Vecchio

Outside, a large canopy serves as a piazza, creating a social space for student interaction. Two terraced gardens with a solarium mark the edges of the basement spaces, ensuring them of ample natural daylight and giving students an outdoor extension of the study area and cafeteria.

The landscaping design
The landscape design is inspired by waves, evoking circular forms. From the heart of the new campus, a series of fluid pathways extend outward like concentric circles, integrating into the terrain and forming terraces for hosting sports and recreational activities. This fluidity contrasts with the rigid regularity of the surrounding buildings, reflecting the juxtaposition between the enjoyment of sports and the discipline of study.

Photo © Walter Vecchio

Sustainability
The roofs are a distinctive element of the project, combining architectural aspects with sustainability in an optimal way. In the new building, a system of sunshade louvres has been implemented specifically to limit the entry of thermal radiation and regulate the amount of light in the educational spaces.

The roof of the farmhouse, on the other hand, is designed to generate electricity from a photovoltaic system, thus powering the entire campus. Thanks to the extensive surrounding park, the campus is equipped with a dedicated system for collecting and managing rainwater, which can be reused during the summer months.

Photo © Walter Vecchio

The interior design
For the new campus, MCA also designed the interiors, based on the principle of flexible teaching spaces that can be adapted to the daily needs of academic life and encouraging a seamless dialogue between the interiors and the outdoor spaces. The new block features a natural oak theatre staircase that connects the two levels of the building. The staircase is surrounded by ring-shaped wooden book shelving, symbolising the cultural value of academic study and traditional learning, and includes seating for students.

At the first floor, the lobby and classrooms feature large glazed surfaces alternating with opaque panels in warm tones, integrated with the slatted ceiling and offering a 360-degree panoramic view of the hilly landscape outside. In the basement too, the louvred roof characterises the space, where a large open area is subdivided into areas for teaching, flexible spaces for study sessions, events, and conferences, as well as a dining area.

Photo © Walter Vecchio

Location: Bologna, Italy

Architect: Mario Cucinella Architects

Project Director: Andrea Rossi

Project Leaders: Davide Raffaelli, Enrico Iascone

Architects: Francesca Fochi, Stefano Bastia, Francesco Rosa

Interior & Product + Material Unit Manager: Elena Cerizza

Interior Design Specialist: Edoardo Caizzi, Ginevra Venturini, Michela Galli

Senior Material Specialist: Lucrezia Rendace

Visual Unit Manager: Alessia Monacelli

Senior Specialist Visual Artist: Walter Vecchio

R&D Unit Manager: Lori Zillante