Vertiefungsarbeit HS24
Studierende: Elke Sguanci
Betreuung: Maria Kouvari
In August 1945 the City Hall of Lugano launched a competition for the design of a “public housing model” (casa popolare tipo). This public housing model was aimed at the population that had been evicted following demolitions of the city’s informal neighborhoods during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The competition was won by the Tami brothers—two Swiss architects from Lugano: Rino Tami and Carlo Tami—with the project “Costruire” (Construction). Featuring two apartment blocks with a courtyard and a garden, the project was constructed on Via Trevano in 1948. Today, known as Le Case Popolari del ’48, the two apartment blocks belong to the Canton’s monument inventory for their architectural and historical value. Despite their listing, the thirty-six apartments of the two blocks stand in a state of neglect and decay, excluded from the city’s planning strategies. This focus work explores the built heritage of Le Case Popolari del ’48 and proposes its integration into Lugano’s urban future.