Martino Pedrozzi
Arch. dipl. epfl - fas/bsa
Via Noseda 20
CH–6850 Mendrisio
Switzerland
t +41 91 942 13 24
info@pedrozzi.com

Photos: Pino Brioschi
Design: Gysin-Vanetti

Made in a limited series of 20 copies by the Werner Oechslin Library.
In the Egyptian pyramids, Greek columns or Breton menhirs the compression due to own weight is zero at the top and maximum at the base. The compression of the stone varies because, as the mass to be supported increases from top to bottom, it does not correspond proportionally to an increase in plan of the surface that supports it. I perceive this as a static imperfection, a constructive compromise, a sizing defect. I ask myself then: is there a solid in which the average compression remains constant at any altitude? The solution is an infinite height rotation solid described by a mathematical formula, in which is the constant proportion between the volume above any horizontal section and its area, the radius at height , and the base radius. As an architect confronted with the force of gravity, I recognise in the geometric trunk that represents this solid an ideal form. I made this ideal shape out of bronze. Its internal compression is homogeneous and similar to the condition of a body suspended in a fluid of equal density, and produces the surprising sensation of a weightless mass. Its particular property gives it character and personality. That is why I have called it Oi, the reflection of “io”, I in Italian language.

[…] it was a mass of stone, which any unknowing observer would have imagined was a heap of stone cast up by the permafrost. Two assistants, who removed the stones in three hours of enthusiastic work, uncovered some kind of centre and then a rectangular shape, eventually revealing the foundations of a farmhouse. Filled up with stones, they had taken on the shape of a grave. The picture which Loos supplies for his definition of architecture ("Someone was buried here, That is architecture.") focuses on the work of both assistants: here on the Sceru Alp they have buried a house. Let us imagine that these two continue tirelessly piling up stones to form graves which tell us about houses, barns and roads. That would be a beautiful way of confirming the rural exodus, wouldn’t it? This text–taken from the catalog of the exhibition “Neues Bauen in den Alpen, Architekturpreis 2006” in which my first recomposition in Sceru was exhibited–ends with the wish to see the work of recomposition begun on that alp continue. In the following years all the ruins of Sceru were recomposed as well as those of the Giumello alp. A few years later the recomposition of the Luzzone Alp was also completed, in which I involved the Section d’architecture of the EPFL, the Academy of Architecture of USI, the Institut für Landschaftsarchitektur of the ETHZ and their respective students, 120 in total.

Pizzada, Blenio Valley

New functions like sleeping, cooking, eating and resting are introduced into a mountain cowshed fallen into disuse. These functions, often considered partially incompatible in the same space, coexist around a fitted piece of furniture.

Sceru, Malvaglia Valley

A farmstead with dry stone walling has its eaves removed and has the woodwork normally visible between the sides walls and the roof covered. The resulting massive character contrasts sharply with the original tectonic design.

Courtyard house in Ligaino

A building consisting of parts built at different times set in a rural complex with a courtyard, takes on a harmonious contemporary character. The reconstruction process begins with the demolition of damaged parts like the wooden floors and woodwork. New floors are placed between existing load-bearing walls at different levels so as to permit direct horizontal and vertical movement, from one room to another, through apertures in the walls. The division into three similar floors in the original building is substituted by a set of independent rooms each placed at a specific level.

Apartment in Ligaino

On the top floor of a traditional house in the historic centre a cross shaped piece of furniture structures in four equivalent sectors the unitary space defined by the perimeter walls.

House in Sonvico

The one floor house leans on a slope and gets horizontality through two hollow pillars where secondary functions are placed.

Housing in Pregassona

The vertical structure composed by eight perimeter pillars and two central cores containing elevator and stairs is repeated without variations on all four floors. The access floor remains empty and row. On each of the remaining three floors the apartments are crossed by a diagonal space that emphasizes their major dimension and guarantees the access to all rooms.

House in Pregassona

A repetitive and close vertical structure, based on two inferior lateral bays and a main central one, allows reduced thicknesses for pillars (20x20 cm) and slabs (16 cm). The roof structure repeats the intermediate slab structure, but it is bent along its central axis.

House in Mendrisio

The house, located just outside the Mendrisio historic centre where once began the fields, has been absorbed over the years by the urban extension. However, its autonomy originally characterized by the agricultural context has paradoxically increased. After the creation of a built front along a recently realized road, the dwelling has found itself protagonist of a well defined space between the historical town edge and the new urban front. (with Victoria Diaz Saravia, facade graphic consultant: Sidi Vanetti)

An elevated roundabout keeps the junction within motorway perimeters and becomes the key element of the new access to the city (with Grignoli Muttoni Partner and Edy Toscano engineers).

The project was commissioned by the Armenian National Social Housing Association. It foresees the construction of 200 new housing units and the renovation of an existing building. The site is an area originally intended by initiative of the Moldovan state to the construction of residential blocks for homeless families after the 1988 Spitak earthquake. The initiative suffered a sudden interruption following the Soviet disintegration, leaving unfinished a series of terraces and a building. Our project originates from a careful analysis of these terraces that properly reshaped become the supporting surfaces of the new residential district. (Graphic consultant: Sidi Vanetti)

The chapel was built to replace and commemorate the old chapel of Ponte Cabbiera, which was submerged in the Val Malvaglia hydroelectric basin. Its location is characterized by the presence of a large boulder, present in the same position since before the construction of the dam. A place that has remained in its original state, not transformed by the excavation and terracing works, capable of giving the chapel a solid foundation with both a static and ideal profile. To those coming by car from the valley, the chapel appears at the bottom of a straight line whose axis is aligned with the cross. The spatial relationship with the road, a modern expression of the ancient paths of the valley, links the chapel to a wider landscape context. The chapel has been imagined as a light raw iron structure composed of a roof obtained by welding two 15 millimetre sheets along the ridge, and six columns 65 millimetres in diameter stuck to the rock by mean of core drilling. The roof is simply supported and maintains its position thanks to its own weight and six pins placed at the top of the columns. A path climbs up from the road, crosses a hazelnut forest and ends up above the chapel in a flat area where a mass is celebrated annually.

Basler Versicherungen Hauptsitz

Der architektonische Ausdruck des Basler Versicherungen Hauptsitz entsteht durch technische Anforderungen und eine präzise architektonische Vorstellung: einerseits muss ein hoher thermischer Standard erfüllt werden, welcher eine lückenlos gedämmte Hülle fordert, andererseits besteht der Anspruch auf eine Fassade, die nicht eine Verkleidung oder eine nachträglich angebrachte Oberfläche ist. Der öffentliche Ausdruck des Gebäudes besteht aus einem monolithischem Flachrelief. Die Mauern, wie nebeneinanderstehende Scheiben, sind unabhängige Elemente, distanziert vom eigentlichen Baukörper und durch eine Serie von horizontalen, in der Fassade mit Bolzen an das sich dahinter befindende Gebäude befestigt. Diese Bolzen definieren, zusammen mit Versteifungsrippen, den Rhythmus der Fassade. (Wettbewerb auf Einladung)

Mendrisio Academy of Architecture design studio spaces

In the project for the Mendrisio Academy of Architecture design studio spaces a new platform supports the new volume, that together with the three existing buildings defines a public space. Its four facades are made of cast on site monolithic reinforced concrete 12cm thick. They are self-supporting and separated along the vertical edges. Their autonomy, two-dimensionality and frontality express in a precise way the ultimate purpose of a facade: to represent the building, similarly to a mask.

Bellinzona railway Station

The Bellinzona railway Station is located on a artificial platform. On this platform, arrival surface to the city for those who arrive by train, the two historic buildings emerge with autonomy once demolished the newest and of less value elements. Our new building, a loggia, is a structure that covers the transitional space between travel and destination, between train and city. The loggia is the city threshold. (Competition by invitation)

Logements à Genève

L’immeuble de logements à Genève est conçu comme un bloc planté dans la végétation avec deux grandes arrière-plans verts au nord et à l’ouest. Au bloc compact, composé d’éléments préfabriqués en béton, se juxtapose, presque sans le toucher, une fine structure composée de piliers et dalles qui dessine d’un trait fin mais décidé le volume d’une grande galerie sur plusieurs étages. C’est la tension entre ces deux objets, le mince vide qui les sépare, qui représente l’un des thèmes clés du projet. Les galeries superposées évoquent un grand scénario où les gens se mettent sur scène.

Venezia Biennale

With our project we propose a reflection on the notion of limit, understood as artificial spatial separation. We do this by redefining the reciprocal spatial relations between pavilion, gardens and city. By means of a new wall we move the entrance of the pavilion outside the Giardini fence. This intervention overturns the spatial condition that accumulates all the national pavilions, characterized by the inclusion within a closed exhibition perimeter. The Swiss pavilion is located outside the fence, in direct contact with the public space of Venice. The gesture is overbearing because it prevents habitual access to the exhibition spaces and excludes them from the pavilion community. But at the same time it is a gesture of maximum openness: these spaces, which in the context of the Biennale represent Switzerland, become accessible to everyone. We do not want to give a univocal interpretation of our proposal or convey a defined message. We prefer the idea of provoking visitors emotionally through an installation that suggests sensations such as inclusion and exclusion, rejection and welcome or spatial closure and openness. The entrance is therefore free, along an ideal path connected to every square, bank or calle of Venice. The public walks along an urban promenade that creeps into the pavilion, crosses its deliberately bare spaces and culminates in the main hall where the large painting of a vast alpine landscape stands out.
With Sidi Vanetti.

Workshop on International Social Housing
Summer school of the Mendrisio Academy of Architecture
www.wish.usi.ch

With the participation in various editions of:
Miquel Adrià
Leonardo Benevolo
Dario Bonetti
Mirko Bonetti
Mario Botta
Sebastiano Brandolini, Angelo Bucci, Alvaro Puntoni
Peppo Brivio, Jacques Gubler
Marianne Burkhalter
Felipe Correa
Paulo Dam Mazzi, Reynaldo Ledgard
Balkrishna Doshi, Snehal Shah
Ana Maria Duran
Dayra Gelabert Abreu
Sandra Giraudi
Giacomo Guidotti
Go Hasegawa, Raphael Zuber
Massimo Laffranchi
Angelo Mangiarotti
Alexis Mosquera
Andrea Pedrazzini
Alfredo Pini
Alberto Ponis
Lone Poulsen
Luis Rueda Guzman
Kazunari Sakamoto
Snehal Shah
Yoshiharu Tsukamoto
Livio Vacchini
Felix Wettstein
Ding Wowo
Stefano Moor
Vittorio Garatti
Martin Anzellini
Luz Mary Rodelo Torres

Books dear to me, chosen in bookstores about twenty years ago, with only the curiosity of the moment in mind.
primavera2020.ch