A c c e s s i b i l i t y a n d S o c i a l S u s t a i n a b i l i t y
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This building, as it is clear from the brief description, is characterized by a very important
historical excursus. Its history is to be considered fundamental regarding to the
architectural value of the whole building and its parts.
Monastero San Felice building is chosen as the study case among more than 50
buildings owned by the University of Pavia for two reasons: firstly for its architectural and
historical value and its strategic location within the Pavia historical centre, and also
because of its dimension and structure, both spatial and functional. It is a building with 3
levels above ground, approximately 4,000 square meters of covered area, which is
morphologically structured around 4 courtyards of different sizes.
Inside it there are 2 rooms that deserve to be mentioned because of an important
architectural value: the octagonal chapel, now used as a library (the Library of the
Faculty of Economics) and the Church of San Felice, now functionalized as a study
room.
From the assessment chart implementation (Fig.6), it quickly becomes clear that one of
the most significant issues concerns the outdoor spaces viability, in adjacency to the
building, and the mobility through the internal horizontal links (both on the ground floor
and on the first floor) because of the paving heterogeneity and the presence of height
differences along the way. Furthermore, the presence of steps (to overcome differences
of up to 30 cm) in correspondence with some rooms on the ground floor and with most of
the rooms on the first floor, is a strong obstacle (a barrier) to the free use for mobility
impaired people.
Figure 6: The assessment Chart applied to the case of Palazzo San Felice.
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