The project that won the invited competition open to designers under 35 gave birth to
the new social house in Caltron in the small town of Cles.
This place is a meeting point for the inhabitants, where children, youth, adults and
seniors can meet, discuss and grow altogether a community identity where life stories
intersect. The functions are designed with this aim, both for children and for elderly
people, and are accessible to all .
The new building is a “trait d’union” between the historic town and the rural landscape,
but at the same time arises as a limit to the expansion of the town and then to the
indiscriminate abuse of land .
All the architectural choices of this building are based on its important social role and on the particular context in which it occurs.
The new volume is a system made by a simple architecture, inserted in a natural way on the ground and a powerful base that sustains it. The building is compact and proportionate to the surrounding ensuring the continuity of the urbanization of the small town. Contemporary architecture that becomes part of the landscape and blends with the apple orchards background, to become a familiar pre-existence for the people from that area. The facade, with its rhythm of solids and voids realized by pilasters continues the succession of apple trees without altering tones and matter. The building is entirely made of wood; both the north and south facades are covered with vertical slats of larch, while the eastern and western long fronts are defined by the vertical scan of the larch pillars.
The windows are set back and protected by the facade plane to generate a continuity of the relationship between interior and exterior, as well as mitigate the effect of the sun in the inner rooms.
The underground volume supports and wraps the entire opera: its long monolithic brand built-in washed and colored concrete that embraces the parking, the playground and the social house. The local porphyry emerging from washing concrete harmonizes the color of the wall with the surroundings.
The wide wooden niche that welcome people who enter the building mitigates and lightens the authoritative presence of the long wall.
The distribution of the interior spaces has defined by the public administration functional program.
The entry is on the meeting room, a space completely empty adaptable and modifiable according to needs. From the north side of the meeting room, you can reach through three sliding doors all the other heated rooms, i.e. respectively the bathroom, the
kitchen and the storage. The two main spaces, kitchen and meeting room enjoying the presence of large windows that provide continuity with the exterior.
Going upstairs you will arrive in a large covered terrace completely free and open. This part of the building allows a magnificence view of the valley from a higher point than the street level. The wooden pillars that support the roof act as sun blind and increase privacy within the space. Another access to the terrace is provided on the west upstream street.
In conclusion, the “Caltron” social house, is aimed to be an important meeting point for the entire community and offers a new perspective on the landscape, but at the same time enjoys high visibility from the town and serves as attraction.