Acquarossa, Switzerland.New Socio-Health Hub Architectural Design Competition
Gross Area
10539m²
Status
Concept
Completion Date
May 2024
Duration
March 2024 - May 2024
Location
Ticino, Switzerland
Concept Design Proposal: “Looking Towards the Sky”
Located in the heart of the Blenio Valley in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland, the town of Acquarossa is initiating a new development centered on public health and community well-being. The project involves the expansion and transformation of the existing “La Quercia” elderly home into a comprehensive socio-health hub serving the broader region.
Titled “Looking Towards the Sky,” the design responds to the deep relationship between nature and people. The goal is to create a space that feels light, open, and restorative—where architecture goes beyond functionality to become a setting for both natural experience and community interaction.
Set between steep alpine slopes and expansive valley views, the new building stretches along a north-south axis, connecting with the existing elderly home to the north. This orientation avoids obstructing views and opens the eastern façade to the valley, allowing the landscape and garden to flow naturally into one another.
Light, Greenery, and Order — A Response to the Human Need for Safety, Comfort, and Dignity
The architecture is composed of a series of gently staggered volumes, forming internal courtyards open to the sky. These courtyards bring sunlight and greenery deep into the building. Fluid corridors extend between volumes, softly linking different functional zones while encouraging everyday encounters with nature. Light, air, and vegetation are not background elements but central components of the spatial experience, interacting directly with daily life and healing processes.
Material choices emphasize natural expression and harmony with the site. A dark concrete plinth grounds the building and echoes the surrounding mountain terrain, while the upper volumes—clad in wood and glass—appear lightweight and transparent. The overall composition suggests an architecture that has quietly “grown” from the forested slopes, humble in posture and deeply integrated with its environment.
Eschewing overly technical language, the project focuses on spatial clarity, emotional resonance, and therapeutic potential. It aspires to be a place that balances programmatic rigor with a sense of calm—built for the community, and quietly bridging the distance between people and nature.
