Circularity starts with the right choice of materials

Polylgass' contribution to Gianni Rodari primary school in Parè di Conegliano, a project combining performance and respect for the environment

Author

Francesca Lovato

Key account and technical promoters manager, Polyglass

The new Rodari School in Conegliano embodies a circular and sustainable design approach, starting with the careful selection of materials. The building is conceived to be fully disassemblable and recyclable. Polyglass contributes through high-performance, synthetic roofing membranes that ensure durability, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

The design of the new Rodari school in Parè di Conegliano combines fluidity and delicacy within a single piece of architecture. The fluidity lies in the layout of the interior space, which offers continuous communication between the classrooms and the outdoor area. The delicacy lies in the building’s relationship with its setting, based on an architectural approach that minimises its environmental footprint, by creating a structure that can be dismantled into its various component parts and fully recycled at the end of its life.

Any approach focused on sustainable design must also take account of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the building, according to the principle of circularity, involving the use and recovery of materials and resources. The waterproofing system chosen for the roof enhanced the project’s credentials in terms of disassemblability and environmental sustainability, in accordance with the Minimum Environmental Criteria for the building industry introduced by the Italian Ministerial Decree of 23 June 2022, which are mandatory for all public tenders in Italy.

When waterproofing the roofs of the Gianni Rodari school, the contractors applied Mapeplan VB PE SD 220, a vapour control layer, over the cementitious substrate, and then fixed Mapeplan T M 18 Broof (t2) MR using mechanical fasteners.

Mapeplan T M 18 Broof (t2) MR is a synthetic membrane, made of flexible polyolefin, with a thickness of 1.8 mm. It is installed dry and fixed to the substrate with metal anchors, making it fully disassemblable at the end of its life.

The top layer is white and has a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) of 99, to easily meet the Minimum Environmental Criteria governing the reduction of the heat island effect, which require an SRI greater than 76 for roofs with a slope of 15% or less.

The synthetic membranes from the Mapeplan T range are supplied with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). This is a third-party certified document based on their LCA, which declares the environmental impacts of the waterproofing membrane “from cradle to grave”: from the extraction of the raw materials through their transport and the production process to the end of life.

This document allows products on the market to be differentiated, favouring companies that adopt optimised production processes and actively work to minimise the impact of their activities on the environment, providing quantitative and certified results such as greenhouse gas emissions, expressed in kgCO₂eq/kg of product.

The waterproofing system chosen for the roof enhanced the project’s credentials in terms of disassemblability and sustainability

As a member of the Mapei Group, Polyglass subscribes to the “CO₂ Fully Offset in the Entire Life Cycle” project: on the basis of the LCA of certain products (including Mapeplan T synthetic membranes), the amount of CO₂ emitted during production is quantified and fully compensated by joining reforestation projects run by verified international bodies.

If designing a school also means creating a place that will foster the development of our citizens of the future, designing it sustainably is a practical expression of responsibility towards the future of our planet and the education of new generations in the responsible use of common resources.

Author

Francesca Lovato

Key account and technical promoters manager, Polyglass

Product Lines

Waterproofing

Waterproofing products for roofing