Basements

PalaCinema, Locarno

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The new cinema building in Locarno was born from the transformation of the historic Palazzo Scolastico, designed in 1892 by the architect Ferdinando Bernasconi.

The London-based architectural firm AZPML has capitalized on the existing structure for identity, cultural and environmental reasons.

A screen of movable tiles rationalizes the lines of the facade, but at the same time enhances the original three-volume profile.

The intervention also involves the Remo Rossi square, transformed into a large red carpet perfectly connected to the surrounding street web.

Inaugurated on the occasion of the 70th edition of the Locarno Festival, the Palazzo del Cinema has three avant-garde screening rooms, two of which with 142 seats each, located between the basement and the ground floor, and one with 500 seats on the second floor.

The two underground rooms and all the other service structures below the ground level were built with the Drytech Tank System.

The window sills, on the other hand, are protected with the Drycoat waterproof covering which, with its reduced thickness, does not alter the purity of the architectural lines.

The vibrant covering of gold tiles is iconic. Ethereal, changeable, dynamic: it is architecture, but it looks like cinema.

Owner: PalaCinema SA, Locarno

Project: Consorzio AZPML+DF, Londra/Lugano

Structure: WMM Ingenieure, Münchenstein

Construction: Impresa Mafledil, Osogna

Drytech Tank: 1,200 m²

Private house, Gelterkinden

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Designed with the expressive power of a sculpture, the Chienbergreben private house in Gelterkinden follows the slope of the land, on the border between the town and the agricultural area.

The underground structures were built with the Drytech Tank System, which made them impermeable to both groundwater and slope water.

The adoption of the Drytech System, which provides for a single waterproof concrete structure, has allowed the project to respect the figure that defines it architecturally even in the underground part.

The entire structure of the building is in fact made of exposed concrete with disposable horizontal formwork: inside as well as outside.

Project: Bucher Bründler, Basilea

Structure: Ing. Jürg Merz, Maisprach

Construction: Obrist Bauunternehmung AG, Wallbach

Drytech Tank: 162 m²

Residence EOS du Parc, Montagnola

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Residence du Parc is located in a clearing in the Montagnola wood, on the Golden Hill overlooking Lugano.

A private park of 6,000 m2 with an outdoor swimming pool and views of the surrounding mountains.

The residence has two underground levels which house the garage on -1 and -2 laundries, cellars and technical rooms.

On the ground floor, in addition to the main entrance, there is the SPA and fitness area.

The location and development of the building adapt to the morphological profile of the land and relate to the neighboring maps to produce the maximum possible integration with the surrounding natural environment and with the solar arc.

Drytech has built the underground waterproof structures in exposed concrete and the swimming pools with the Drytech Tank system.

Project: Gieffe Studio, Lugano

Structure: Studio d’Ingegneria BRC, Agno

Construction: GTL, Gravesano

Drytech Tank: 1’900 m2

Intesa Sanpaolo tower, Turin

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The Intesa Sanpaolo Tower in Turin confirms the coincidence between form and substance that characterized the entire work of architect Renzo Piano.

Just look at it to understand how it is made, how it works. Starting with the multiple relationships that he establishes with the environment, the city, the mountains on the horizon.

The east and west facades are characterized by tapered columns that support the 38 floors above ground, for a height of 166 meters.

A skin of mobile and transparent slats is suspended on these facades, which convey the air for cooling in summer and ensure thermal insulation in winter.

The skyscraper breathes and interacts with the environment, with the aim of consuming very little energy, which is moreover produced entirely from renewable sources.

The south side in fact entirely covered by a photovoltaic field of 1,600 square meters and the air conditioning system uses the heat exchange energy with the ground water. A rainwater collection system allows a saving of 48% of drinking water. Rain sensors and intelligent control units ensure controlled irrigation of green areas.

Lighting is also optimized through a louvered sunscreen system that modulates the amount of sunlight that penetrates the premises. At sunset the artificial lights come on automatically and gradually, according to the ephemeris.

The dialogue with the outside is not limited to the energy aspect, but also affects the social and urban plan. In addition to the offices for 2,000 Intesa Sanpaolo employees, the skyscraper has six floors dedicated to the public, with an auditorium, spaces for cultural events, a restaurant and a school. On the top of the Tower there is also the bioclimatic greenhouse and a panoramic café.

Started in December 2008, the first phase of the project ended in June 2011 with the construction of the foundations and the 6 underground floors with the top-down technique. Drytech has created all the tanks (internal and external) with the White Tank system as well as the treatment of the floor-diaphragm recovery joint along the entire perimeter of the basement, for a total linear development of 420 meters.

The underground floors house a car park with 300 parking spaces, technical rooms and the surprising underground garden, which also overlooks the kindergarten park.

At the foot of the skyscraper there is a park crossed by pedestrian paths that connect the surrounding avenues. On the large lawn, the kids give life to a theory of spontaneous and interminable football matches, making the doors with a pair of sweatshirts.

Ownership: Intesa Sanpaolo Spa, Torino

Project: Arch. Renzo Piano, RPBW Paris

Structure: FHECOR Ingenieros Consultores, Madrid

Drytech Tank: 5,200 m²

Trevisani house, Cureglia

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Where do architects live? What is the house of someone who designs houses like? The answer of the architect Stefania Trevisani Mahler stands on a flat parcel, on which two independent volumes have been built: one dedicated to the house and the other used as a studio by the photographer Sandro Mahler.

The construction choices favored a prefabricated wooden structure with high insulating potential for all the perimeter walls of the volumes emerging from the height of the garden.

As regards the basement floors, the Drytech Tank System in waterproof concrete was instead opted for, due to the strong presence of water in the subsoil.

Project: Arch. Trevisani Mahler, Cureglia

Structure: Ingg. Giani e Prada, Lugano

Construction: Impresa Taddei SA, Viganello

Drytech Tank: 400 m²

The Teen’s Library, Mendrisio

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The Paolo Torriani Foundation for minors has created a new structure that allows the institution’s activities to be completed, adapting them to the evolution of the needs of minors in need of reception, protection and educational support.

The upper floors of the structure are intended for ateliers with a therapeutic value, spaces for the involvement of families in the path of children and “bridging apartments” to support young people in the transition from the institute to autonomy and self-determination.

Learning, working, establishing relationships and growing one’s self-esteem: these are fundamental steps in the process of integration and emancipation.

For this reason, the Foundation has identified the Children’s Library, another historical Mendrisio institution, the ideal partner to create a working reality in which to start getting involved in a balanced and protected way.

The Library occupies the ground floor and also offers a literary tearoom.

In some sectors of the façade, the images of the “Flying Boys” with which the artist Roberto Mucchiut interpreted the Foundation’s goal are imprinted directly on the concrete: helping young people to grow in harmony to take flight in life.

The upper limit of the volume follows the slopes of the elegant impluvium roof, designed as a real fifth facade, giving a further element of dynamism to the Tower.

The roof was waterproofed with the elastic and continuous Drycoat covering which, overcoming the need for sheet metal work and with its reduced thickness, guaranteed the purity of the architectural lines.

Drytech has also created the underground level with the waterproof Drytech Tank structure.

Ownership: Fondazione Paolo Torriani, Mendrisio

Projekt: Krausbeck architetto with GSMM architetti, Salorino

Structure: Studio di Ingegneria Roberto Mondada, Balerna

Construction: Impresa Riva Costruzioni, Tremona

Drytech Tank: 600 m²

Drycoat roof: 250 m²

Residenza Tertianum, Chiasso

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The project of the new Tertianum Residence in Chiasso revolves around the concept of the square: the urban space of exchange, meeting and sharing.

If human relationships, relationships, are what make us recognize a place as our home, the main objective of architecture for the third and fourth age is to create the conditions for the formation of a new community.

Parallel to the themes of independence and privacy of living and care and support services, sociability is the third pillar of a healthy and stimulating life, at any age.

It is essential to live in places that offer us new opportunities to meet.

The Tertianum Residence is, in fact, a new playground in Chiasso and encourages a meeting between generations that will enrich both children and the elderly.

Inside the structure there are, in addition to the panoramic terrace, a restaurant open to the public, a doctor’s office, a podiatrist, a hairdresser and physiotherapy.

The large underground car park built with the waterproof Drytech Tank structure is also equipped with charging spaces for electric cars.

Ownership: Tertianum, Chiasso

Project: DF + Partners, Lugano

Structure: Jelmoni Ingegneria, Ascona

Construction: Quadri, Lamone-Cadempino

Vasca Drytech: 7’500 m2

Mortuary, Chiasso

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The architect Paolo Andreani conceived the new crematorium in Chiasso. The structure, located in the center of the municipal cemetery, is characterized by an evocative perspective opening and an engaging permeability to natural light and the sky.

Crossing the entrance to the cemetery, the crematorium appears as a sort of rationalist arch. A door, a passage beyond which you can see, in a long perspective, the final limit of the burial ground.

The side volumes are hidden from view by cypresses, so the central nave appears as a dividing line between the earth and the sky.

Walking along the nave, welcomed by a bronze deposition by the sculptor Ivo Soldini of Ligornetto, we discover small openings with a square section that adorn the ceiling with glimpses of the sky.

In the center of the nave there is an altar above which a circular opening in the roof reaffirms the sense of transcendence of the place. The skilful use of natural and indirect light finds its apex in the rooms of the lateral bodies.

The full-height glass walls overlook minimal gardens, enclosed by perforated walls. The outside world is perceived behind a curtain and the light falls softly from above.

The architecture of these environments arouses the protection of an embrace and promotes meditation. The farewell rooms and the ceremonial hall – with the large stained glass window by the Swiss artist and glassmaker Servais Bastian Grivel – convey a sense of peace and harmony.

Ownership: Associazione Ticinese Cremazione, Chiasso

Project: Arch. Paolo Andreani, Chiasso

Structure: Ing. Chiesa e Partners, Chiasso

Construction: GTL, Gravesano

Drytech Tank: 530 m²

Underground parking, Magliaso

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In Magliaso, MPN Ingegneria has designed a mixed residential and commercial complex, consisting of several buildings connected by the common underground garage.

In the hypogeum areas without buildings above ground, the Drytech Tank was closed by the waterproof slab.

The main body is intended for the supermarket and, in the basement, for the customers’ garage.

Eight apartments have been built above the supermarket.

On the opposite side of the internal road there are three buildings, plus a tower that houses a cafeteria. Below this area extends the garage with the residents’ private parking lots.

The underground parking of the supermarket and that of the residents are connected by a tunnel with a shutter which is located below the internal road.

The mixed destination makes the complex lively and lively during the day, and quiet and relaxing from the evening onwards.

The block is in fact located a few meters from the lake shore and is bordered to the east by the cycle-pedestrian street of Magliaso.

Project: MPN Ingegneria, Bioggio

Structure: MPN Ingegneria, Bioggio

Construction: Impresa Beloedil, Melide

Drytech Tank: 1’360 m2

Ginetta Residence, Morbio Inferiore

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The large panoramic terraces of the Ginetta Residence in Morbio Inferiore are rotated with respect to the front of the east facade. The angle of exposure to the sun is thus increased.

The orientation of the building is an architectural component defined precisely in function of the control of natural light.

The project by the architect and urban planner Carlo Rizzi di Morbio, includes 20 apartments of various sizes, distributed in three independent blocks, organized in four levels plus a basement for garages, cellars and service rooms.

The broken lines of the main facade are counterbalanced by the essentiality of the north-west facade, crossed by the slight changes in level of the three buildings, which follow the natural slope of the land.

From this side you can access via a ramp to the large underground level, made with the waterproof Drytech tank structure, as well as the suggestive infinity pool set in the large lawn of the property.

Project: Architect Carlo Rizzi, Morbio Inferiore

Works management: Architect Alessandro Caffi Bregola, Morbio Inferiore

Structure: Chiesa & Partners, Chiasso

Constriction: Consortium Medici, Morbio Inferiore / Barella, Chiasso

Drytech Tank: 1,900 m2