Waves

WAVES

Location: Savosa, Lugano, Switzerland
Building area: 2570 sqm
Date: 2015 – 2017

Unlike the usual modus operandi, we took over the Waves Residence at a later stage. We intervened in fact during the excavation work of a project commissioned by the client before entrusting us. For this reason we encountered a few project restrictions as far as the volumetric and the structure are concerned. Therefore we focused on other fundamental aspects: the joining of technique, aesthetics and context.

The residence is located in an urban area marked by heavily congested access routes that are generating sources of sound waves; a problem that we solved by designing the appropriate shape and surface, following the principle according to which waves reflect waves.

For efficiency reasons, the internal volume was kept equal and compact on every storey, while we worked with the simple yet honed motion of the terraces. The motion of the façades, the cladding with anodised aluminium corrugated sheets and the windows with their casings allow the reflection of the sound waves coming from the streets. Not only do these elements have a practical role, but they also create different colours thanks to the iridescent features given by the interaction of the materials with the surrounding landscape. Location, technique, aesthetics and building details are brought into one gesture.