Virtuous dialogues through interference and interaction

Situated in Sorengo, within the Ticino Alps and near Lake Lugano, Flaviano Capriotti Architetti has completed the expansion of the Franklin University Switzerland Campus – the McNeely Center of Ideas & Imagination. The project addresses themes of education and hospitality with a contemporary language centered around the material contrast between the educational spaces and the student residences, resolving it conceptually. The first structure, fluid and enveloping, openly invites interaction through its transparency, serving as a catalyst for the sharing of knowledge. «The glass volumes are a metaphor for culture: it has no predefined forms and must be permeable and shared by all», explains Flaviano Capriotti.

The second, robust and introspective, ensures the privacy of the university residences.The architect identified the dialogue between these volumes in an element that epitomizes the symbol of knowledge: the book. Thus, the U-Glass louvers of the semi-transparent volume evoke the movement of turning pages, while the concrete texture of the second volume mirrors the layering of pages. The book not only informs the architectural narrative but also weaves the storyline of the entire project. Both volumes express their relationship with the surroundings, each in its own language: the semi-transparency fosters an osmotic relationship between interior and exterior, discreetly revealing spaces and encouraging interaction, while the terracotta-toned pigmentation of the concrete resonates with the landscape’s hues.

The architecture itself becomes an open book on the virtues of a sustainable design approach: the need to shade the glazed cylindrical volume led to a solution that both shields from the sun and generates renewable energy. The curved facade is covered with an adjustable system of white photovoltaic louvers, developed in collaboration with the Department of Environment Constructions and Design at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, capturing the sun’s rays throughout the day. The educational spaces are vibrant and creative, while the residential areas are warm and inviting, both resulting from the collaboration between Flaviano Capriotti Architetti, who custom-designed all the furnishings, and Kartell, who not only manufactured them but also provided the most iconic pieces from their collections.