RISTRUTTURAZIONE E AMPLIAMENTO DELLE SCUOLE ELEMENTARI DI SOLDUNO, LOCARNO – SWITZERLAND, 2022

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
1ST PRIZE – ON GOING

WHAT STRIKES US THE MOST ABOUT THE CURRENT SOLDUNO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDING IS ITS TRACE. THE LINEAR GEOMETRY OF THE BUILDINGS, DRAWN PARALLEL TO THE SLOPE, CONNECTS DIRECTLY TO THE HISTORIC CORE. THE ELEGANT AND ARTICULATED VOLUME, WHICH DEFINES A RICH SEQUENCE OF INTERNAL EDUCATIONAL SPACES AND EXTERNAL RECREATIONAL SPACES, FIRST AND FOREMOST MARKS A SHIFT IN SCALE.

WE THEREFORE INTERPRET THE EXISTING BUILDING AS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN THE DENSITY OF SOLDUNO’S CORE AND THE EXPANSIVE DELTA TERRITORY FACING THE LAKE. FROM THE NARROW STREETS OF THE VILLAGE, ONE “LOOKS,” THROUGH THE DEFINITION OF BROAD OPEN SPACES, TOWARD A MORE EXTENSIVE LANDSCAPE.

OUR INTERVENTION STARTS FROM HERE, OR RATHER, FROM THE AWARENESS THAT THE PROJECT SITE—A LARGE EMPTY SPACE LEFT BETWEEN THE SCHOOL BUILDING AND THE URBAN PRESSURE TO THE EAST—TODAY REPRESENTS THE LAST POSSIBILITY TO PRESERVE THIS CONDITION.

WE THEREFORE WANTED TO DEFINE A BOUNDARY, PRESERVE A VOID, ADD A “FIELD” TO THE SYSTEM OF OPEN SPACES FORMED BY THE COURTYARDS OF THE CURRENT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, THE CHURCH FORECOURT, AND THE CEMETERY ENCLOSURE, AND TOGETHER WITH THESE, DESIGN A POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CONSOLIDATED CITY AND THE SPRAWLING CITY.

Collaborators: Margherita Schivazappa, Camilla Maitan, Alessandra Cavallaro
Team: Borlini & Zanini, Visani Rusconi Talleri, Elettroconsulenze Solcà, Giorgio Aeberli, Andrea Roscetti
Images: © Filippo Bolognese