The San Silvestro Compendium is located at the eastern end of the historic center of the city of Pisa, near the city walls and overlooks a small tree-lined square. The complex consists of a Romanesque church and the annexed building, with a total area of 9,000 square meters. The work carried out concerns the restoration, seismic improvement, energy efficiency, the regulatory and functional adaptation of the historical "San Silvestro" Compendium for the headquarters of the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa.

The property is present in the list of historic buildings subject to protection pursuant to Legislative Decree 42 of 22/01/2004, "Code of cultural and landscape heritage" and s.m.i. and is divided into three levels, with a load-bearing masonry structure and a wooden roof consisting of pitched roofs. Over time, various maintenance interventions followed, such as the refurbishment of the church, the restoration of the building opposite to the façade and the offices and teaching areas (2004-2008). The rest of the building was abandoned, in part statically compromised and unsuitable for hosting any activity.

The considerable size and complexity of the work suggested a program of interventions articulated in different functional lots, all with the common aim of solving the building degradation problems and adapting the existing spaces to the new functional needs, such as offices, areas conference, workshops and in general new spaces for the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa. In particular, the executive project of lot II, the subject of a report, had the objective of finding a place for cutting-edge laboratories (with all that this entails from a regulatory point of view) within a monastic complex of medieval origin , subjected to historical and artistic constraint, with the aim of enhancing the good, giving it at the same time the original solemnity.