This residential building is situated in the historic centre of the city in the same dominant position as the cathedral of San Lorenzo and it enjoys a stunning view of the rooftops and Lake Lugano. The street – built when a major urban planning project demolished the Sassello district in the old centre that was considered decaying and insalubrious at the end of the 1930s – with the pre-existing large stone walls was taken into account in the design of this building. Thus it has a bold base that echoes the course of the street. This also permitted the construction of three floors of underground car park and supports a luxuriant garden, whose trees (olives, cypresses and magnolias) are a real oasis of greenery in the centre of the city. The entrance to the car park is decorated with Surrealist wall paintings by the Ticino artist from Tremona, Tazio Marti, and the entrance hall has works by the sculptor Paolo Bellini and paintings by Cesare Lucchini and Sergio Emery. These are all artists Camponovo admires and with whom he has struck up a real friendship. A light installation by Luca Frei welcomes the visitor with the words: “Come in friends, the house is yours!” The building has seven floors above ground and the exposed pale concrete structure defines its volume, except for the two glassed in sections in the front. The concrete façades have more solids than voids punctured with rhythmic square openings. The metal and glass façade overlooking the lake has large terraces that enjoy a 180-degree view. They become actual lookout points offering one of the most beautiful vistas in the area. The central block is oval and contains the vertical connections, which, together with the outer skin, is the only static element in the whole building. The rooftop garden establishes a dialogue with the vegetation below and becomes the crowning part of the building, as well as being a kind of pleasant fifth façade for the buildings on the hill overlooking it. Camponovo owns this building, constructed in the early 1990s, and lives here with his wife Françoise, who is also his associate.
Lugano
1993
Giampiero Camponovo, Françoise Camponovo
Projects, Residential Complexes