Building Renavation on Lugano’s Lake

Massimiliano Dell’Olivo, Marino Beretta

Photo by Stefano Dell’Antone

Reading the existing building and understanding its essence has been the starting point to work out afterwards the redevelopment project of this structure on the shores of Lugano lake.

Photo by Stefano Dell’Antone

A cleaning operation to confer elegance to a building marked by time and by the progressive alterations of its original shape.

The eastern front leans forward to be closer to the water, huge mirrors open from the frontage to allow the sight of the out standing landscape towards Campione d’Italia.

Metallic sliding shutters flushing the external plaster allow to close the openings.

Photo by Stefano Dell’Antone

White and grey tones alternate in the design of the building.

The northern and southern fronts are moved by squared windows; the game of ratios on squared basis permeates the plan of the whole building. Also here the flushing sliding shutters match the windows and everything is encased by grey frames.

The red-purple entrance doors and the mail boxes are the one and only touch of colour.

Photo by Stefano Dell’Antone

The western front is characterized by huge metallic walkways.

The square and its variations come back as the golden section but the language is more severe, almost industrial: the presence of the highway interchange required a though character to the whole front.

The flights of the stairway leading to the entrances break the rudeness of the geometry.

The metallic carpentry is sharp in the choice of the profiles, in their assembly: visible corners that together with the metallic nets and the transparent polycarbonate covering tend to dematerialize and lighten the volume.

The floor of the walkways in sandblasted pigmented cement in the first floor and in metallic sheets with almond in the second floor is a natural consequence of the resolved language of this front.

Photo by Stefano Dell’Antone

The redistribution of the interiors allowed to obtain five residences instead of the previous two, keeping the car repair shop existing on the ground floor.

A small residence is located in the mezzanine of the ground floor: it is composed by living area with lake sight, bathroom and double room. The other four residences are located in the upper floors, two for each floor. These last ones are endowed too with an huge living area with water basin sight, two double rooms, two bathrooms, closet, laundry and entrance.

Photo by Stefano Dell’Antone

The building has been renovated paying attention to the precepts of environmental sustainability and energy saving. It also is according to the Swiss standard Minergie. A result obtained thanks to the correct thermal isolation of the casing together to a heating pump fed by a photovoltaic system field installed in the roofing.

Translation by Giovanni Cattaneo

Photo by Stefano Dell’Antone