Switzerland

Beata Vergine Hospital, Mendrisio

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The superficial grid of the Mendrisio regional hospital brings together the different distribution of spaces

The Mendrisio regional hospital is located in an area on the edge of the historic centre, characterized by the presence of buildings surrounded by majestic gardens.

The positioning of the hospital expansion aims first and foremost to strengthen this ensemble through the definition of a public space: an urban park capable of offering a spatial quality to the buildings that stand on this place.

The main architectural choices of the new wing, such as the porticoed ground floor and the design of the facade, derive largely from the particular condition of a hospital building surrounded by a public space.

The semi-underground rooms, the underground ones and the extension of the garage with 127 parking spaces created under the new square were created with the Drytech Tank system.

The facade seeks an adequate response to the public situation of the building, allowing an open view towards the outside but at the same time closure and appropriate discretion for those looking from outside.

Through the twisting of standard aluminum profiles, a precise identity is given to the building. This surface grid makes the different distribution of spaces unified.

Project: Gaggini Studio D’Architettura, Lugano

Structure: Pianifica, Locarno

Works Management: Direzione Lavori, Lugano

Construction: Barella, Chiasso

Drytech Tank: 3’500 m2

School, Bedano

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A classroom of the Bedano Elementary School designed by the architect Vezzoli

There is an additional emotional involvement in designing and building a school. There is a sense of future that invests us with further responsibility.

There is the evocative power of memories: the first day of school and then all the other first times at school that determined what we would become.

Architect Vezzoli designed a structure composed of two perpendicular bodies: one dedicated to classrooms and service spaces and the other to the gym, with a gallery for the public.

The corner between the two bodies forms a space characterized by a large lawn, delimited on the third side by the steps of a grandstand that emerges from the greenery, creating a continuum with the surrounding nature.
It is the contemporary and organic version of the school courtyard, perfectly inserted into the context of the hill on the slopes of which the school complex stands.

Set in the profile of the slope, the building is partly underground and was built with the Drytech Tank.
On the ground floor of the main building there is space for the management, administrative offices, the canteen for around 60 students, the after-school club and the large entrance hall with access to the gym.

On the two upper floors there are the classrooms, set up to encourage maximum flexibility in the organization of the class, depending on the different activities.

Project: Architect Egidio Vezzoli, Bedano

Structure: K.ing Civil Engineering, Agno

Construction: Giovanni Quadri, Cadempino

Drytech Tank: 2,500 m2

CPC Gym, Chiasso

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The CPC double gym in Chiasso is the victory of lightness over weight, interaction over separation, flexibility over rigidity.

The duality between the podium and the covering volume of the room is defined by a detachment, produced by a punctual support on all four sides.

Through this suspension, the monolithic volume appears very light, to the point of seeming to be held back – rather than supported – by the four lateral Vs.

The detachment connects the interior space with the urban and natural elements that surround the gym. An interaction that places it in the context of the school and cultural campus, weaving various relationships with the peculiar elements of the place.

The building reacts to different situations and topographical differences. To the north it has an access terrace, in relation to the school buildings and access from the public car park. To the south, a flight of steps in relation to the small garden.

A delimitation of the road field and the existing square to the east. Finally, it is at the same level as the m.a.x Museum and the Spazio Officina, sharing their public vocation.

The podium is a Drytech tank. The insulation of the internal facades is protected by an exposed wooden strip in the lower part and by an acoustic paneling in the upper part.

From an energy point of view, the building meets the criteria of the Minergie standard.

Client: Canton Ticino logistics section

Project: Architetti Nicola Baserga e Christian Mozzetti, Muralto

Structure: Ingegneri Andrea e Eugenio Pedrazzini, Lugano

Construction: Mafledil, Osogna

Drytech Tank: 2’128 m²

Residence Rivabella, Magliaso

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The new pavilion of the Rivabella Residence in Magliaso

Inaugurated 30 years ago on the shore of Ceresio, the Rivabella residence in Magliaso has been equipped with a new and very modern wing which, together with the historic buildings, forms a spectacular courtyard overlooking the lake.

The new pavilion appears extraordinarily light, almost suspended by virtue of the retreat of the podium, camouflaged by the shadow cast by the upper volume and by the large windowed walls of the common areas, which make it permeable to the background.

Water represents an equally central element in the architecture of the residence. In addition to the lake, which naturally orients and catalyzes the views, in the center of the lawn there is a small lake with a water garden, water lilies and fountains.

The ground floor houses the large restaurant room, the gym, the physiotherapy and the wellness centre, with the spa equipped with Kneipp path, salt room, massage centre, and then the waterproof structures created with the Drytech Tank: sauna, bathroom Turkish, indoor swimming pool and hydromassage.

The Residence is organized to guarantee guests the possibility of maintaining their habits and independence.

The attention to the personal history and individuality of the residents also includes the possibility of choosing the furnishings of the rooms and suites, even using their own furniture.

Due to its exhibitions and concerts, the Rivabella Residence has become a cultural reference, to the point that its Art Gallery is the main exhibition center in the region. This cultural offer is accompanied by a notable concert season which, in the summer, has this fascinating corner of the lake as its backdrop.

Project: Luca Gazzaniga Architects, Lugano

Structure: Ing. Galli & Associati, Cadempino

Construction: Garzoni, Lugano

Photo: Enrico Cano, Lugano

Drytech Tank: 380 m2

Alpine Lodge & SPA, Campra

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L'Alpin & SPA Lodge, progettato da Durisch+Nolli

Since 2019 Campra, the legendary Val di Blenio x-cross center with its 30 km of slopes, has been enriched with a welcoming and modern Alpine Lodge & Spa, with spectacular views of the woods and mountains.

Designed by the architects Durisch+Nolli around the main theme of valorising the context, the new building enhances the essence of the place, generating a natural interaction with the surrounding landscape.

The natural difference in height of the land is taken up by a concrete plinth which contains all the services and infrastructures functional to the various athletes.

The wooden accommodation structure rests on this concrete element, which on the ground floor houses the reception, the bar, the kitchens, a bright self-service restaurant, an elegant gourmet restaurant and a welcoming lounge bar.

The head of the building is strengthened in its expression by an additional floor entirely dedicated to the SPA: a wellness center with sauna, Turkish bath, hydromassage tub and relaxation area, offers a bright self-service restaurant, an elegant gourmet restaurant and a welcoming lounge Cafe.

The structure also has a versatile, bright multi-purpose room designed to accommodate different types of events, from private parties and aperitifs to conferences and meetings.

Property: Campra Alpine Lodge & Spa, Campra

Project: Durisch+Nolli Architetti, Massagno

Structure: Reali and Guscetti Studio d’Ingegneria, Quinto

Construction: Ennio Ferrari Company, Lodrino

Drytech Tank: 2,850 m2

Cedrus Mansions, Minusio

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One of the swimming pools of the Cedrus residence overlooking Lake Maggiore

The Cedrus residential complex, in Brione sopra Minusio, offers one of the rare opportunities to purchase an exclusive home with a breathtaking view of Lake Maggiore, in the mildest point of the Swiss coast.

Perfectly integrated with the natural environment and the surrounding urban fabric, at the same time it guarantees the luxury of having everything within the property. The world in one house.

Framed between the mountains around Brione and the Lake Maggiore, Cedrus is surrounded by a forest that acts as a green backdrop and crossed by a natural stream.

In addition to all the basements, the elegant wellness area, the SPA, and the outdoor infinity pool in the lounge area were also created with Drytech Tank structural waterproofing.

Project: Architect Giuseppe Quartarone, Manno

Structure: Engineer Andreotti and Partners, Airolo

Construction: GTL, Gravesano

Drytech Tank: 4’430 m2

Swiss Life neighborhood, Massagno

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Aerial view of the Swiss-Life park district of Massagno

The Remo Leuzinger Architecture Studio has designed the park-neighborhood Swiss Life with an important urban planning role.

The Swiss Life housing complex forms an archipelago that defines and enhances the view onto Via Lepori, consolidating the character of the urban axis of the artery and, at the same time, opens pedestrian passages that make an important part of the park accessible to the public.

The three articulated volumes of different heights integrate with the original valuable trees, proposing an image of buildings in the park. The irregular pentagonal plan of the main bodies overcomes the rigor of right angles, giving organicity to the volumes and fluidity to the orientation of the facades.

Each unit corresponds to a “Hortus conclusus”. Built with woven chestnut slat panels and galvanized iron wire, these nest-gardens reproduce the quiet and intimacy of a cloister, inside the park-neighborhood Swiss Life.

Client: Swiss Life AG

Project: Remo Leuzinger Architect, Lugano

Landscape Architect: Officina del Paesaggio, Lugano

Structure: Afry Engineering, Arbedo-Castione

Construction: Barella, Chiasso – Implenia, Bioggio

Drytech Tank: 590 m2

Mantegazza Palace, Lugano

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Drytech Tank system for the 5 floors of the underground car park of Palazzo Mantegazza, 15 meters from the lake, in the presence of a water table of 18.80 meters.

The basement was built in underlay, using the hanging formwork technique: after the completion of the diaphragm walls, the slab of the ground level is cast, leaving openings through which it is possible to dig up to the level of the slab -1.

Then the formwork already used for the zero slab is lowered and, once it has reached level -1, the new slab is cast on it. And so on up to the bed, at level -5.

The walls of the Drytech Tank are made directly against the diaphragm, obtaining both the lining and the wall itself in a single casting.

Project: Camponovo Architetti & Associati, Breganzona

Structure: Studio Ingg. Mantegazza e Cattaneo, Sorengo

Construction: Garzoni SA, Lugano

Drytech Tank: 6’600 m²

Bella residence, Locarno

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With the Residenza Bella, Locarno has a new landmark that characterizes one of the main entrances to the city.

With the Residenza Bella Locarno has a new landmark that characterizes one of the main entrances to the city.

The facades punctuated by the grid of windows, the entrances created in the corners cut at the base, the suggestive stone of the facades which interacts vibrantly with the solar arch, the dynamic and surprising shape of the profile: everything contributes to the powerful originality of this residential and commercial building, designed by architects Filippo Floriani and Marco Strozzi.

But only by reaching the south side does one discover that it has an extra façade.
In fact, part of the roof is actually a series of semi-covered terraces interspersed with green pools. The tops of the plants emerge from the profile of the pitch, giving organicity to the structure.

Designed around the needs of those who live there, Residenza Bella of Locarno relies on careful construction, the choice of materials and the advantages of home automation for excellent energy performance, which also allows the management costs of the individual apartments to be contained.

The parking spaces are equipped with charging stations for latest generation electric cars and the Drytech Tank underground structure also guarantees impermeability to radon, for an architecture that manages to combine beauty, character and living well-being.

Project: Floriani and Strozzi Architetti, Paradiso

Structure: Jelmoni Engineering, Ascona

Construction: Promeng Company, Lugano

Drytech Tank: 1’070 m2

Municipal House, Cadempino

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Architectural detail of the loggia of the Municipal House of Cadempino

The new Municipal House of Cadempino is the seat of the city administration, but it is also many other things for the citizens. It is first of all a square, or an agora: in the Hellenic sense the main place of democracy, heart of the polis and seat of the assemblies.

This large open space, which from an architectural point of view communicates with the volumes, enhancing them through the contrast between empty and full, from an urban planning point of view acts as a catalyst and multiplier of meeting opportunities, both organized and spontaneous.

The square is also an arena: the steps that define the west side host the public for en plein air shows or events. The hope is that it will also be colonized and chosen as a wall by the kids of the town, but these are imponderable dynamics on which architecture can affect up to a certain point.

The space is delimited to the north by the large multi-purpose room and to the east by the municipal warehouse, while the main building, just set back, characterizes the square with a spectacular loggia that lightens its volume, and on which Lorenzo’s mobile sculpture vibrates Change.

The basement houses two car parks with charging stations for electric cars.

The entrance to the Municipal House of Cadempino is created in a deep setback compared to the main facade, which also in this case the void gives lightness to the structure.

The three levels of the main building develop around a tree that grows in a winter garden created in the center of the structure.

Vital fulcrum of the building, visible from each level at a different height, the cork oak takes on an engaging symbolic value, in which democracy can be seen as a good to be cultivated with everyone’s contribution.

Project: Antonio e Luca Antorini Architetti, Porza

Structure 1: Ing. Alessio Casanova, Pazzallo

Structure 2: Ing. De Bernardis, Massagno

Construction: CSC, Lugano – Giovanni Quadri, Cadempino

Sculpture: Lorenzo Cambin, Sorengo

Drytech Tank: 3’190 m2