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��Ӱֱ�� State architecture students studying in Sorrento, Italy, recently proposed improvements to an elementary school located in a former 15th-century palazzo along one of the city’s oldest streets.

The thirteen third-year students had the opportunity to meet with school administrators, document the existing conditions, and create a complete digital model of the building and surrounding streets. The class then worked as a team to propose a series of design interventions focused on improving the accessibility, circulation, and overall connectivity of the historic structure. 

Of the experience, student team leader Ruby LaDue said, “Collaborating with my class in Sorrento was an eye-opening experience that strengthened our teamwork and gave us a new perspective on architecture. Seeing how adaptive reuse is approached in Italy compared to the U.S. helped us better understand how design responds to different cultures and histories.”

The Conservatorio Santa Maria della Piata, a four-story building once occupied by the Correale family and constructed in the Late-Gothic and Catalan tradition, is a classic centralized floor plan that wraps around an open courtyard. The student designs proposed creating a new accessible entrance, improving building security and circulation, and providing a monumental stairway connecting the courtyard to each floor, including the new rooftop educational and recreation spaces.

Enriching the project was the involvement of several alumni back in New York who work in the K-12 Education Market segment. Architects Josh Bezio, ’05, AIA, NCARB, and Ethan Smith, ’15, RA (HUNT-EAS), Kyle Smith, ’07, AIA (CSArch), and Taylor Woolf, ’15, AIA, NCARB (BCA Architects & Engineers) volunteered their time to review the student work virtually and offer suggestions based on their collective experience. 

“Collaborating with this group of students was a reminder of why we’re passionate about designing educational spaces,” said Bezio speaking on behalf of the alumni team. “As professionals working in the K-12 sector, it was inspiring to see these future architects tackle the complexities of adapting a historic structure to meet the needs of today’s learners. Their work reflects both cultural sensitivity and a strong understanding of how architecture can shape learning environments around the world.”

The Conservatorio project was the fourth in a series of civic engagement projects undertaken by ��Ӱֱ�� State students studying at the Sant’Anna Institute in Sorrento, Italy. In previous years, Studio Sorrento partnered with the nearby community of Piano di Sorrento to propose conceptual designs for the renovation of the municipal building façade, public market, and Villa Fondi De Sangro, a public park and gardens overlooking the Bay of Naples. Last year’s project, Edificio Scolastico “Ferdinando Gargiulo,” focused on proposed renovations to a vacant public elementary school built in 1960, which was closed in 2007 and declared “uninhabitable” following two structural and seismic technical assessments. That project also involved virtual coaching from a team of ��Ӱֱ�� State alumni headed up by Jason Benfante, ’01, AIA, K-12 Vice President, Regional Leader at CPL in Rochester. 

“Civic engagement projects are an excellent way to assist our community partners, both in Allegany County and abroad, while giving the students exposure to real-world projects and stakeholders,” said Professor William Dean, who has directed Studio Sorrento since 2018. “Providing students the opportunity to interact with members of the professional community only broadens and deepens their understanding and is one of the hallmarks of the ��Ӱֱ�� State Architecture experience.”

Now in its sixteenth year, Studio Sorrento is a program open to ��Ӱֱ�� State architecture students in their third year of study and provides participants a unique opportunity for a spring semester experience that includes courses in Urban Sketching & Journaling, Italian, and Archeology in addition to the design studio.