Mapei took part in the “M.A.MA” project (Affection and Maternity Module), an initiative of the G124 Work Group, to construct a building within the confines of Rebibbia Prison in Rome to provide an area where detainees from the Women’s Section of the prison could meet with their families and relatives.

The aim of the Family House is to allow visits to be carried out in more intimate surroundings in a protected environment, in a different atmosphere with respect to traditional prison visits, in order to reproduce the dynamics of a domestic setting.

Right from its iconic form, the building immediately gives you the idea of home. In fact, even though the structure is quite small (28 square metres), it allows people to spend time together and to prepare and eat a meal, as if living a normal domestic life, with the intention of helping detainees return to their important role within their family and to help rehabilitate them and make their reintegration a little easier.

The project is the result of a close and highly effective relationship with DAP, Dipartimento di Amministrazione Penitenziaria (Penitentiary Administration Department) of the Ministry of Justice, which provided funding to build this prototype.

The prototype for the Family House could be the first example of a structure that could then be copied and built in other prisons.

The structure, built entirely out of wood, was proposed and created by the G124 Work Group from La Sapienza University in Rome. The group is made up of three young architects, Attilio Mazzetto, Tommaso Marenaci and Martina Passeri coordinated by Professor Pisana Posocco, and benefited from the collaboration of male and female prisoners, and in particular the contribution of the joinery and carpentry workshop at Viterbo Prison and several partners and sponsors, including Mapei who donated various products.

Mapei supplied the following products in particular to waterproof rooms, paint walls and treat wooden features:

- MAPELASTIC SMART two-component, high-elasticity cementitious mortar for waterproofing balconies, terraces, bathrooms and swimming pools;

- MAPEBAND EASY rubber tape sandwiched between two layers of non-woven fabric to form elastic joints in waterproofing systems;

- MAPETEX SEL macro-perforated non-woven polypropylene fabric for reinforcing waterproof membranes;

- ECO PRIM GRIP ready-mixed, universal adhesion promoter with very low emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) for render, skimming compounds and adhesives for ceramics;

- ELASTOCOLOR PAINT elastomeric, crack-resistant protective interior and exterior paint with permanent elasticity and high resistance to chemicals;

- ULTRACOAT TOP DECK OIL oil-based finish for treating exterior wood flooring.

The initiative is just part of a more far-reaching G124 project for the urban redevelopment of city suburbs by the architect and life senator Renzo Piano, which he is financing with the salary he receives as a senator. The initiative also involves 12 students awarded bursaries from the universities of Milan, Padua, Rome and Catania, tasked with creating projects that can then be introduced into parts of cities all around the country – whole areas, single places or buildings – that have particular social problems.

Apart from the M.A.MA project, this year the G124 work group took part in the redevelopment of the Arcella area of Padua in collaboration with the University of Padua, the redevelopment of the Mazzarona area in Siracusa in collaboration with the Catania School of Architecture and the refurbishment of the Via Ciriè Community Centre in the Niguarda area on the outskirts of Milan in collaboration with Milan Polytechnic. Mapei also took part in the latter of these projects by donating products and solutions to help transform certain areas of the former school into a place where the entire community could meet and bond, particularly the foyer and theatre.

Photo credits: Alessandro Lana, Pisana Posocco