Residenza Step Tower

Construction of a new apartment building with 41 rental apartments, a LIDL store, an underground car park with 50 parking spaces and 28 outdoor parking spaces.The development is situated on a flat, rectangular lot that extends southward from the main road into the Maggia Valley, in the heart of the densely built-up Campagna neighborhood. The compact structure makes optimal use of the available space while still responding to the neighborhood’s prevailing scale. The finely detailed facade, featuring low-set French windows that are slightly staggered one above the other, plays a key role in this confident integration into the neighborhood.

The project consists of two separate residential buildings that border the two street spaces and rise from a shared base floor. This base level houses a retail store, offices, and storage rooms, as well as an underground parking garage with an access ramp. Trees in planters along the recesses and the green roof of the base level, as well as a hedge along the western property line, define the building’s exterior appearance.

The North Tower has six apartments and the South Tower has three, each with one to four rooms, accessed via interior stairwells. All apartments feature a corner balcony; the penthouse in the North Tower has a landscaped area with a view extending to Lake Maggiore. The units are digitally controlled, with smartphone-based locks and access badges; communication with the property management is also handled digitally. The parking garage offers a wallbox for charging electric cars.

The Step Tower meets Minergie and Greenproperty standards. Hot water and heating are provided by air-to-air heat pumps with “free cooling” in the summer, supplemented by a photovoltaic system. Underfloor heating lowers the target temperature in the summer.

The biggest challenge was the sandy subsoil, which was stabilized using geogrids and a granulate mixture, as well as the close engagement with the needs of the neighborhood.