Design of a Federal Asylum Center in Balerna
Switzerland
A modular and self-sufficient reception center, with flexible spaces designed to respond to both functional and environmental needs.
Year
2018
Project goals
The aim of the project is to create a Federal Asylum Center (FAC) capable of accommodating up to 350 people, with an architecture that is welcoming, sustainable, and respectful of the urban context. The design seeks to provide functional and dignified spaces, integrating housing, operational, and symbolic needs into a single coherent organism.
Site conditions
The FAC is located in a transitional urban area, bordered by a railway line to the north, an industrial zone to the south, and a single vehicular access to the east. The building is conceived as a compact, polygonal volume organized around two internal courtyards, ensuring comfort, safety, and acoustic protection.
Design approach
Spread across multiple levels, the FAC includes 42 bedrooms arranged around the two central patios and connected by three stairwells. The layout accommodates family units, vulnerable individuals, and larger groups, ensuring privacy and livability. The core of the project lies in its flexibility: modular housing units that can be easily reconfigured, with a structure designed to evolve over time in response to fluctuating asylum requests.
Particular attention is given to energy self-sufficiency and sustainable resource management, with a sloping roof to host solar panels and a system for rainwater collection and reuse.
Details and materials
The center combines innovative construction technologies with traditional materials such as rammed earth and glulam timber, creating an envelope that is both thermally efficient and highly evocative. Rammed earth, in particular, was chosen not only for its eco-friendly properties but also for its symbolic value as a material tied to the housing memory of many future residents.
The timber load-bearing structure ensures lightness and fast construction, while modular and flexible interiors in plasterboard are designed to facilitate future changes. Brise-soleil, folding shutters, and landscaped outdoor areas complete a project that strikes a delicate balance between technology and humanity.
