As an answer to the competition topic, we’ve imagined a new public center for the village of Cenate Sopra, Italy. Due to severe surface limitation, our first action was to occupy as much as possible of the buildable area in order to cut out the biggest unnecessary surface. Together with the existing public space of the church and the street, the resulted space would gain the character of a generous and authentic piazza.
Given the complex topography of the site and the position of important focusing points like the school, piazza and the church, the new building is developed as a system of platforms that follows the existing terrain and organises the program in a strategic manner. As a result, the new building creates a continuous flowing space made of platforms and pillars. The structure takes advantage of the stair-like system and uses the step as a beam, resulting in an ingenious and simple structural system.
Due to its apparently deformed anatomy and its red colour given by the concrete’s pigmentation, the building gains the character of a huge resting animal between the heels of Cenate Sopra.
