The Gramsci Keynes School is an upper secondary school that offers three curricula: a scientific lyceum, a technical institute of building construction, a tourism economic institute. In Italy, the upper secondary school lasts five years and provides students with the skills for accessing a university or higher educational institution. The Liceo scientifico (Scientific lyceum) focuses on scientific studies, while also covering humanistic studies. The program usually includes the following subjects: Italian, Latin, history and philosophy, English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, earth science and computer science. Technical institute provides a highly qualified specialization and prepares students to work in a technical or administrative capacity in agriculture, industry or commerce. The technical institute of building construction is specialized in building design and management. In Italy, upper secondary school is for students from 14 to 19 years of age. The school has 132 teachers and 28 employees in the technical and administration staff.
The school building is located in the semi-peripheral area of Prato, a town of 187.000 inhabitants, close to Florence and is made of 4 blocks. The main central block contains the hall and at the first floor the offices of the administration and technical staff. Two blocks contain classrooms and laboratories, organized in three floors. A fourth block is an independent building connected to the main one through an aerial walkway. This block contains the canteen at the ground floor and the auditorium and a small gymnasium hall at the second floor, and also a gymnasium hall which is two floors high, with tribune seats and changing rooms. The main central block and one of the two classroom blocks have been completed in 1988, while the other two blocks have been completed in 1999. The gross floor area is 12.166,00 m2. The bearing structure is made of reinforced concrete. The external walls are made of slabs of concrete and expanded clay. The whole building surface is exposed and stands free on all sides. Glazing covers 40% of external surface.
In the school 8 power meters have been installed in different locations. Three classrooms have been equipped with environmental sensors measuring the temperature, the relative humidity and the luminosity. These classrooms are located in the block B building (i.e., Building construction curricula), first floor. We have also installed a luminosity sensor in the main school hall and a weather station. All the sensors have a sampling time of 5 minutes.
