New school canteen in Viganello
Location: Lugano-Viganello, Via Crocetta
Architecture firm: Inches Geleta architects
The FIL ROUGE project by architects Matteo Inches and Nastasja Geleta (Inches Geleta architects) won first prize in the competition announced by the City of Lugano for the elevation of the Via Crocetta School Center in Viganello.
On September 28 and 29, 2017, the jury met to evaluate the proposals of the 24 designers who participated in the one-stage design competition for the new school cafeteria in the Viganello neighborhood. The City of Lugano's objective was to identify the best architectural solution for the elevation of the School Center on Via Crocetta in the Viganello neighborhood and, in particular, for the formation of new spaces to be used as a canteen and after-school program for 100 children aged 6 to 11.
The one-stage free procedure competition, open to architects under the age of 40, was chosen by City Hall with the aim of promoting new generations of professionals. At the end of the session, the jury unanimously awarded first prize to the FIL ROUGE project, with the following reasons:
"The project establishes a fruitful dialogue with the existing building, proposing a metal structure of great visual lightness that reinterprets, updating it, an architectural language coeval with the School built between 1974 and 1978 by Sergio Pagnamenta. The intervention proposes a crowning that transforms the building while respecting its identity.
The articulation of the rooms generates spaces of great clarity that guarantee flexibility of use and an atmosphere consonant with the functional destination. The terrace intended for after-school use is an additional element that brings quality, as is the pool on the southern side that, taking up an element of the existing building, establishes a relationship of proximity and intimacy with the vegetation.
Also convincing is the entrance solution that provides an open space for various activities. The arrangement of the service core is also considered ideal for the connection and distribution of facilities. The plan layout allows for possible containment of heated volumes."
Construction began in early 2020 and was completed in September 2022.
In February 2024, as part of the SIA Ticino 2024 Award, a mention was given to the project in the Young Professionals under 40 category. With this recognition, the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects Ticino section intends to promote the work of those professionals who distinguish themselves in their work by a careful, innovative and enhancing look towards the territory as a cultural asset of the whole society, both built and free.
Last updated: March 29, 2024
©Photo Tonatiuh Ambrosetti