Palazzo San Giuseppe fondazione Molo

The project was initiated specifically to finance the Theology Department of the University of Lugano. The new building is located on the edge of the historical centre in the extensive garden of the San Giuseppe convent complex of cloistered nuns.
The urban lay-out of the zone was determined more by building norms and regulations than by a regulatory plan based on solid cultural bases. In this area with little character and not evocative enough to serve as the natural continuation of the centre, the building was intended to be a sign of change and a morphological break from the new city.
The old limiting function of the city walls along the street has been taken up by the smooth, compact front of the façade of the building’s lower block, set parallel to the street in order to leave free the view of the 18th-century chapel frescoed by Giuseppe Bonini in 1766.
As regards its volumes, the project began with the need to control the “negative” spaces that inevitably form among the existing buildings. It is important to manage these spaces, given the width of the telescopic view that takes into account all the lines and alignments of the previously built volumes.
The result was two non-perpendicular volumes connected by a corner that runs the entire height of the north side of the building, serving as a kind of “generating hinge”. The volume set back and above mirrors the alignments of the buildings in the background. The “negative” space is thus not only controlled but even fosters unexpected harmonies. The simple façades have a rigorous design and unpretentious use of the materials. The building ends with a characteristic, “precise” block extending on two levels whose glass parts are set back on the side to obtain shadows that accentuate the design.
Regarding the volumes, the architect aimed to integrate them into the pre-existing elements, while, for the façade, he opted for a bright plaster – a simple, “poor” material – so as to conform with the simplicity of the adjoining convent complex.
On the side facing the convent garden, where the cloistered nuns would often stroll about, the building is mostly closed off to give a sense of protection and privacy. In this way, however, interesting volumes are created that reflect the building’s urban nature. The structure has commercial spaces on the first two levels and administrative offices on the upper ones. The large volume in the back houses a public multi-storey car park.