The new Educational Building at the Bio-Medical Campus in Rome must be examined and interpreted as part of an organic framework of interventions to complete what was foreseen in the 2004 Urban Planning Agreement between UCBM and the Municipality of Rome. For this reason, the position of the building in the area, its spatial structure, as well as the system of porticoes that connotes its external appearance can be traced back to a broader system of geometric and grammatical rules that regulate the various interventions planned for the accomplishment of the Convention.

The building is structured according to an hybrid scheme that originates from the superimposition of a linear structure – alternating solid and empty bands – with the courtyard model; the result is a very rational scheme that envisages two bands 13.2 metres deep along the south and north fronts, where the classrooms are mainly located, while the east and west fronts correspond to the central "void", where the main areas are located: the entrance hall, the lecture hall, the study space and the courtyard. These two bands represent an extremely flexible structure that allows classrooms of different sizes, as well as their divisibility.

The four fronts are characterised by the presence of porticos of different heights and depths but with a constant vertical rhythm, while the heart of the building is represented by the large square courtyard, closed on three sides and open to the outside towards the east, through a portico. This space is designed as a sort of internal square where students and teachers can stop between classes or meet; in short, one of those spaces which seems secondary if looked from a strictly educational point of view, but with the potential to become central to the lives of those who will attend the new building.

From a functional point of view, the project was conceived with the aim of satisfying and responding to the needs of ongoing evolutionary processes such as those that have been modifying learning patterns in recent decades. In order to meet these needs, the spatial structure of the new building features a matrix with different degrees of specialisation: some venues will have a greater functional connotation – such as the lecture hall and the simulation rooms – others will have a medium degree of specialisation but a good degree of flexibility – such as the classrooms for regular didactics and the study spaces – while others will have a more generic aspect and maximum flexibility – such as the connective spaces.

The process of decentralisation of the classroom, which used to play a central role, is at the basis of the reasoning on the flexibility of the use of space; not only has the use of the classroom been rethought, but all the secondary and connective spaces have also been involved in this functional reversal. In this sense, on one hand a whole series of innovative places are foreseen to favour short one-to-one meetings and team work – both between students-students and between teachers-students – on the other hand the connective space becomes a place for relationships, which supports informal learning as well as interaction with others.