La Ferriera
administrative and commercial building

2000-2003
Locarno, TI
with
arch. Luca Andina
Studio d’ingegneria Andreotti & Partners SA, Locarno

Die Besten ’03, SF RDS and Hochparterre
European award for steel buildings

Essentially, the project has four components: two identical prism, a gallery which separates them and one filling which joins the prisms and the gallery together. 
A plentiful empty shim along the façade, a wide gallery connecting two parallel streets and two perimetric pedestrian crossings –slightly higher than the existing pavements– get La Ferriera to be a building provided with a large public space.
On the ground floor there are shops and a restaurant, while offices are on the above five levels. 
In order to avoid the damages caused by the frequent lake’s overflowing, the thermic power plant and part of the archives are placed on the last floor. The parking is located on the two basements.

Each prism is stabilized by two hubs in reinforced concrete, containing the stairs and elevators, linked together through the slabs and supplemented by two lines supported by four pillars. 
The steel façade is deliberately massive and heavy. The 1.7×1.7m grid modules do not reveal the five building floors. A floor corresponds to two modules in height.
Surface: 2’537m².
Volume: 57’773m³.