Share
2019 saw the inauguration in Catania of WonderLAD, an experimental home run as a charity and providing services to children with cancer and other serious health conditions. The building, designed by Frontini Terrana Architects, is inspired on the one hand by the form of an embrace and on the other by the archetypal hut shape, and provides a comfortable, multifunctional environment for more than 300 people. Five years on, we discuss WonderLAD’s development with its originator, architect Emilio Randazzo, who, together with his wife Cinzia Favara of the LAD charity, has engaged with the children’s families and the local community, making them active partners in many initiatives.
How do you help your young guests and how is the local community involved in the project?
The number of patients has increased over this five-year period. At present we’re caring for 70 boys and girls, their little brothers and sisters and their parents. About 200 people benefit from art therapy activities, such as pottery, painting, jewellery, film, music therapy or figurative arts workshops, not to mention pet therapy services and medical rehabilitation (physiatry, neuro-psychomotor therapy, physiotherapy and speech therapy), as well as counselling for parents, who are requesting it in ever-increasing numbers. We host the neighbourhood school for open-air lessons in pet therapy and figurative arts and for organic vegetable growing. Thanks to “crowdfunding” by supporters with small annual donations and 80% co-funding by the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, all these services are delivered free of charge.
Has the entire WonderLAD facility now been completed? Are expansions planned?
It’s almost all been completed: the reception area, the offices, the practical activity rooms, the accommodation for patients whose homes are outside the area, the playground, the car park and the caretaker’s house. No expansions are planned, but the grounds of almost two hectares and, above all, the 300-seater auditorium still need some attention, and we’ve been raising funds to finish them for some time. The Italian Parliament has decided to show its support for the private donors’ commitment by also contributing to WonderLAD’s construction, and above all by creating a fund of 5 million Euros a year to assist a number of associations, including LAD, that work with child cancer patients. Our model and our support package (the LAD Project) has been replicated, further to an architecture competition, by the City of Pavia and the local Policlinico San Matteo hospital, after the Italian Senate awarded the project its first million Euros of funding in the 2022 national Budget.
The building is about two thousand square metres in size, with rooms overlooking green grounds. The rooms’ layout, the choice of materials and the colour scheme help to create an environment that is not just attractive and comfortable but also healthy and safe.
The architecture is an integral part of the care package: everything has been carefully designed to support the activities that take place inside. The bright, light-filled character of the interiors is enhanced by the concrete-effect porcelain stoneware flooring [Marazzi is one of the materials suppliers, ed.], which also helps to guarantee the rooms’ hygiene. What’s more, its natural look dialogues perfectly with the other materials used, such as wood and cork, which in turn are fundamental in generating a serene, positive mood. Due to the choice of natural and/or recyclable materials and low use of resources (nZEB building classification), the building is in energy class A4.