Pregassona Multifunctional Center (Centro Polis)

The Centro Polis aims to be, first and foremost, a hub for hospitality and socialization for the district. It primarily serves elderly individuals requiring various levels of assistance and healthcare, offers a daycare service for early childhood, and provides outpatient services.

Thanks to the coexistence of these diverse sectors, the center is an excellent example of intergenerational interaction. Guests are provided with spaces designed according to the classic architectural standards of elderly care homes, featuring pleasant common areas and spacious rooms that ensure privacy.

Residents with complex conditions, particularly various forms of dementia, are provided with separate spaces specifically designed for their well-being, including a daycare center managed by SCuDo - Servizio Cure a Domicilio (Home Care Service). A facility conceived in this manner ensures maximum care for the individual and their families during the delicate transition from private residence to a care home in later life.

The winning design solution, proposed by Studio Mario Campi e associati of Lugano, was developed with a concept in the shape of two interconnected "L"s, emphasizing openness towards the outside world.

The architecture of the building aims to become a significant element in the built landscape of Pregassona, strengthening the connection with other nearby gathering points such as the Cornaredo area, the Pregassona center, and the Viarno Park. The access areas and those in front of the center are designed as important public spaces, providing green meeting areas.

The facility offers 114 beds, 31 of which are for guests with dementia and 83 in three general wards. The bright rooms face outward, helping elderly residents orient themselves, and are equipped with private bathrooms and wardrobes. Rooms for guests with dementia, however, have shared facilities located in the central corridor of the building.

The main visitor entrance is accessible from Via Bozzoreda, with an alternative entry via Via Vedreggio through the garden. Around the inner courtyard, the heart of the entire complex, are the communal spaces, including a bar, a lounge-dining area, physiotherapy rooms, and administrative offices.

The ground floor houses many additional integrated spaces: a daycare center for people with senile dementia, a room dedicated to sensory therapies (not exclusively for center guests), the SCuDo parent-child counseling center, and the administrative offices of the autonomous entity LIS.

Overlooking the lower garden is a nursery section with its outdoor play area, along with essential service spaces such as radiology, laundry, locker rooms, parking, a supplier entrance, and technical rooms. The roof is partially equipped with essential technical systems, while the remaining surfaces feature a green roof with photovoltaic panels, a solution long adopted in most of Lugano's new buildings.

The large building is constructed with solid materials that ensure durability and healthiness. The concrete structure, with well-spaced point supports, has allowed for the creation of bright and welcoming spaces.

The large external glass windows, the spacious interior areas, and the natural stone flooring sourced from Ticino express the public nature of the ground floor. Meanwhile, on the upper floors, the smaller windows, interior furnishings, and tile or PVC flooring reflect a more residential character.

To enhance orientation, stimulation, and the general well-being of guests and staff, great care was taken in selecting the colors for the walls and furniture in the common areas, as well as in integrating artistic elements. The facades, composed of photovoltaic panels, incorporate aluminum frames and adjustable metal slats.

The structure, like every new building in the City, complies with the Minergie energy standard, significantly reducing energy requirements. Furthermore, as an added value, the Centro Polis is unique in its self-production of electricity through an integrated photovoltaic system (BIPV) using the vertical surfaces of the external facades and the horizontal roof surfaces.

At the time of its completion, the building features the largest photovoltaic facade surface in Ticino and one of the largest in Switzerland. The facades are covered with over 1,600 square meters of laminated and tempered glass panels, whose entire surface is photovoltaic. The performance of the systems, which covers about half of the building's energy needs, is constantly monitored in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), which participated in the system’s design. The cogeneration heating system combines electricity and heat production, achieving greater efficiency than traditional systems. The system was realized with the support of the Fondo Energie Rinnovabili (Renewable Energy Fund) of the Canton and the City, in collaboration with the companies AIL, Alsolis, and Sunagel.