High-Efficiency Facades for the New Rectorate in Tor Vergata

The new university complex renovates the institutional image of the Roman athenaeum. The innovative design of the facades, created with Schüco systems integrated in the smart building, was conceived with the sunny Mediterranean climate in mind

by Roberto Guccione

By relocating the offices of the Rectorate, the administration and the departments of the Law Faculty in the new Camus, Rome’s Tor Vergata University renovates its institutional image and takes an important step forward to relaunch the Athenaeum in a dynamic and international dimension. Focused on the large pedestrian square, the project of the new Rectorate stands out for its trapeze-shaped volumes placed at right angles to one another. Characterized by sloping walls, large mirrored surfaces and a rapid alternation of sunshades, in keeping with bioclimatic principles, buildings create a new polarity in this area, limiting two sides of the square.
Within the orthogonal wings, well-lit, elegant and comfortable areas – equipped with the most advanced digital technologies – allow students, professors and personnel to carry out their functions in an efficient and stimulating environment, fitted with structures and services coherent with the demands of a modern and environmentally friendly university centre.
The current layout of the buildings, which represents a first part of the whole, will be completed in the near future by an intriguing spherical structure, which will host the conference hall and the athenaeum’s management offices.
The building’s envelope is made up, as regards the opaque surfaces, by a ventilated facade coated with slabs of travertine, while the transparent parts contain glass solutions with the highest performances and a system of fixed sunshades which on one hand defines the layout of the elevations creating raised open spaces for the users, and on the other hand lessens solar radiation, preventing a thermal overload of the internal environments.
“During the design phase”, explains Architect Massimo Alessandrini, Project Manager for the Tor Vergata limited liability consortium company, the successful tenderer, “we actively cooperated with Schüco Italia to define the aesthetical, technical and performance properties of the envelope, thereby providing a decisive contribution to the overall quality of the project. The cooperation was constant throughout the construction phase, with several meetings on site during which all the relevant aspects were analyzed in depth, thereby obtaining an overall result which exceeded expectations.”

Technology and performances for transparent facades
The curtain walls of the elevated floors of the office buildings (A-B-C-D) are made up of a mullion and transom structure which on the ground floor uses glass panels with hidden fixtures and joints sealed using structural silicone, which allows to conceal from the outside the Schüco FWS 50+ SG (Structural Glazing) network. On the upper floors glass panels are held mechanically in place by aluminium profiles. Curtain walls covering the stair wells of buildings A, B, C and D are constructed using the Schüco FWS 50+ mullion and transom system, made up by extruded, precoated and heat sheared aluminium profiles (with EN AW 6060 as a primary alloy). Made up of fireproof (class 0) materials, the facades are anti-seismic and lightning-proof. Surface treatments respect the technical directions of the quality brands Qualanod (for anode oxidation) and Qualicoat (for coating).
Glass panels used throughout the project are double-glazed, with extra light low emission glass on the outside, a space filled with argon gas and HST-tested, stratified tempered glass on the inside. The system includes channels to collect any water which might seep through or any condensation, which is drained to the base of the construction, and EPDM seals, which eliminate the need for sealing products.

PROJECT DATA
Realization: Tor Vergata Rectorate
Client: Tor Vergata University, Rome
Licensee of the Termprary Consortium: Vianini Lavori Spa (main contractor); Consorzio Integra Soc. Coop.; Impresa Pizzarotti & C. Spa; Italiana Costruzioni Spa; S.A.C. Società Appalti Costruzioni Spa; Aquilaia Spa; DI.COS. Spa; Tierre Srl; G. & G. Di Stefano Srl; Costruzioni Civili Commerciali Spa.
Project manager: Architect Massimo Alessandrini
Architectural Designer: Architect Angelo Zampolini
Structure Designer: Sylos Labini Ingegneri e Architetti Associati
Plant Designers: AG&C Associati – CFA Ingegneria Srl
Curtain Walls: Schüco
Development and construction of Schüco doors and windows: COIM Serramenti S.R.L.