RIQUALIFICAZIONE ENERGETICA E AMBIENTALE DELL’EDILIZIA SCOLASTICA. IMMAGINI, OBIETTIVI, STRATEGIE, OPPORTUNITÀ

At a time when attention to the environment seems to have finally become one of the primary objectives to be pursued for the management of human processes and effects related to them, the maximum extension and strengthening of policies for efficiency and quality of building systems becomes a necessary vehicle for the implementation of Community and national programs. Within the existing park building, school buildings occupy a large segment of public property, but are rarely involved in investment projects of national interest. Especially since, according to the Annual Report of Legambiente "Ecosistema scuola”, two thirds of the existing school constructions are housed inside buildings constructed during the period between 1940 and 1990, many of which have not undergone substantial changes and transformations over time. From this relationship and from many verifications by the Public Administrations and users is clear, moreover, that these structures have many building issues related to consumption of resources, the well being of the internal conditions of use and security and, not least, management by local government units. From the perspective of management, school buildings relate to the heritage of competence of local governments (municipalities and provinces in relation to education) that are required to provide for the maintenance of quality and performance requirements that guarantee safety and efficiency. Unfortunately, in daily practice, the managers are not always able to steer the school buildings through appropriate logic programming, in the medium to longer term, and there is therefore a widespread culture of "urgency”, such that are performed only emergency. This logic operation can not affect significantly on the general conditions of school buildings, whose problems are emerging so disruptive only at accidents and in the presence of victims. The possibility to operate substantially and in a scheduled way on school buildings, by adapting the physical environment and optimizing the use of resources, would, on the one hand, increasing the quality of construction and conditions of use and, secondly, improving the management of economic resources available to the local government units. It should be noted, also, that the school is a breeding ground for the spread of the principles of sustainability and to promote in students a higher awareness and commitment in energy, both in school, both in everyday life. The innovative processes of management and upgrading school buildings, therefore, may affect both the system building facility and the implementation of educational objectives, because, since the school is the institution responsible for education and cultural growth of citizens, it must start a strong training in line with the principles of environmental protection and resource savings.