Harbour parking, Loano

he new car park of Marina of Loano, one of the most interesting tourist ports in Mediterranean, has 400 parking spaces below sea level.

The new car park of Marina of Loano has 400 parking spaces below sea level.

Loano is one of the most interesting tourist ports in Italy and the Mediterranean for pleasure boating.

The expansion of the Marina involved a surface area of 358,000 m2 and involves the construction of over 1,200 berths, with the possibility of mooring boats up to 50 meters in length.

The port and city are served by a car park with 1000 parking spaces, of which 400 are underground. Or rather, submarines.

The underground car park of the Marina di Loano, created with the Drytech Tank System, drops 4 meters below sea level.

Structure: Mi.Pr.Av, Milan

Construction: Marcora SpA, Milan

Drytech Tank: 7,700 m²

Liquid perspective, Coldrerio

very long swimming pool

A very long swimming pool on the way out and short on the way back.

It is the perspective effect created by architects Mikail Akbas and Massimo Carmellini, who also designed the villa on the heights of Chiasso.

Seen from the side of the diving board, the pool appears very long and the body of water is the absolute protagonist.

Conversely, on the opposite side it is the villa and the large lawn that characterize the space, and the swimming pool – which previously seemed as long as the porch – retreats into the greenery.

The infinity east side and the slope of the lawn produce another surprising effect, with the trees in the hedge appearing to rise directly from the water.

The exposed swimming pool was built in a Drytech waterproof concrete structure and waterproofed, once the construction was completed, with injections of expanding resin which sealed the joints, the shrinkage cracks and the numerous crossings, such as the inflow vents, the drains and the immersed lamps.

Project: Architetti Mikail Akbas, Chiasso and Massimo Carmellini, Balerna.

Construction: Garzoni, Lugano

Hanging swimming pool, Ascona

Overlooking Lake Maggiore, the house with a hanging pool designed and designed by engineer Bonalumi for himself.

Overlooking Lake Maggiore, immersed in the woods above Ascona, the house with a hanging pool designed and designed by engineer Bonalumi for himself.

The pool occupies part of the top floor and, from the water, the view sweeps across the entire lake.

The bottom of the pool is the slab of the master bedroom.

The structure is a Drytech Tank in exposed waterproof concrete, with the edge of the pool completely covered with the Drycoat waterproof covering.

Project: Pianifica SA, Locarno

Pool and aquatic garden, Vernate

Piscina a sfioro immersa in un giardino acquatico, anch’esso a sfioro. Con una vista mozzafiato sul lago di Lugano.

Infinity pool surrounded by an aquatic garden, also infinity.

With a breathtaking view of Lugano Lake, this suggestive swimming pool is a Drytech Tank with three walls against the ground and one – on the lake side – completely exposed.

Project: Franzi and Canetta Architects, Noranco

AlpTransit Control Center, Pollegio

AlpTransit Polleggio Operation Center

The AlpTransit Polleggio Operation Center manages the railway traffic of the Gotthard and Monte Ceneri base tunnels.

Known as “The Periscope” for its futuristic architecture, the POC is one of the four SBB operating centers in Switzerland, together with the ultra-modern centers of Lausanne, Olten, Zurich.

Height and shape of the building are the architectural response to two functional constraints.

The POC marks and declares the entrance to the Gotthard base tunnel. It is a symbol.

To be perceived as such by the railway and the motorway it was developed in height.

The second constraint is the dimensional incompatibility between the control room and the type of an office building, which has led to accepting the contrast and expressing it in a radical way. Thus, the double-height slab of the control room is grafted onto a trunk of office space, arranged diagonally on the lot.

The AlpTransit Polleggio Operation Center therefore appears as a sculptural object animated by a twist between the two volumes.

Seen from a moving vehicle it transforms, changing its proportions and offering different states of balance.

Client: Canton Ticino logistics section

Project: Architetto Bruno Fioretti Marquez, Berlino

Structure: Ingg. Borlini & Zanini, Pambio Noranco

Construction: CSC, Lugano

Drytech Tank: 711 m²