Centro Professionale Tecnico del Settore Tessile (CPT)

Client: Consiglio di Stato per il tramite del Dipartimento delle Finanze e dell’Economia del Cantone Ticino

Place: Chiasso, Switzerland

Date: 2020 Competition

Type: Education

Area: 6000m²

AZPML

Alejandro Zaera-Polo, Maider Llaguno-Munitxa, Ivaylo Nachev, Carlota Mendes

The image of the building is generated by a response to the North/South orientation of its main facades. Extending the serrated form of the roof to the facades, the envelope of the building is designed as an extrusion of a serrated sectional template on every surface, producing two end walls which are characterized by this form, reminiscent of a jagged cut on a fabric sample. The serrated envelope is acting on the roof to provide ample daylight from the North for the workshops.

On the North face, the serrated envelope provides an opening toward the sky to capture as much light as possible, on two separate bands of fenestration per floor, one for daylight and another for views. On the South face, the serrated envelope aims to protect the envelope from the South solar exposure by tilting the opaque bands upwards and the glazing panes downwards. This layout will also contribute to diffuse the noise from the railway.

We are proposing a clear stratification of the program uses, leaving the public and collective programs on the ground level, the classrooms and administration, on the first level, and the workshops on the top floor, to benefit from the North-facing clerestories. Our project for the CPT Chiasso is aimed to exploit the specific conditions of the site and the functional requirements of the program to produce a distinctive architectural expressi

The program requires a variety of spaces that include public and collective facilities, classrooms and workshop spaces. We have tried to minimize the building height to improve its performance: the closer the program is to the ground, the more efficient and integrated is the performance of the facilities, and the easier is the wayfinding and circulation. We are proposing a clear stratification of the program uses, leaving the public and collective programs on the ground level, the classrooms and administration, on the first level, and the workshops on the top floor, to benefit from the North-facing clerestories.