Aprtment Building on Via Carona appears as a reticular structure perched above the railway, on the hills facing Lake Lugano, containing 14 dwellings behind its concrete envelope. As a project, it is driven by a reflection on the lifespan of materials and how they can enable a transformation over a 50-100 year cycle.
© Simone Bossi
By considering the lifespans of the different constructive elements – from structure (100 years), services (50 years), envelope (30 years), to the relative impermanence of the partitions (10-20 years), the project aims to reduce to the minimum the grey energy along with its existence.
© Simone Bossi
The building is thought of as a structural exoskeleton with consolidated service cores, thus leaving the rest of the plan free to change over time. Conversely, all the internal partitions are lightweight or built-in furniture, in order to be easily replaced as low-energy operations.
© Simone Bossi
A range of peculiar typologies is produced by the massing and the site constraints. The structure tilts out to support a projecting element at the top with the penthouse, changing the perception of the frame and of the landscape beyond. Materially, the building softens its monolithic aspect with bush-hammered concrete panels as an infill to the frame.
© Simone Bossi
© Simone Bossi
Project Info
Architects: DF_DC
Area: 2000 m²
Year: 2020
Photographs: Simone Bossi
Country: Paradiso, Switzerland
structural Engineer: Ingegneri Pedrazzini Guidotti
Ruba Ahmed, a senior project editor at Arch2O and an Alexandria University graduate, has reviewed hundreds of architectural projects with precision and insight. Specializing in architecture and urban design, she excels in project curation, topic selection, and interdepartmental collaboration. Her dedication and expertise make her a pivotal asset to Arch2O.