On the tracks of fashion: competition projects for the new professional textile centre CPT Chiasso

If Milan is recognised as the fashion capital in Lombardy, Chiasso is a candidate for Ticino.

Its vocation for creating fertile exchanges at the national and international level, creating a network for the fashion sector, passes through professional training and creative culture. The Department of Finance and Economics DFE (through the Logistics Section) will build the new headquarters of the CPT Textile Technical Professional Centre in Chiasso on behalf of the Department of Culture and Sports Education (DECS). This project embodies the belief that the identity of a school should also emerge through a logistical choice and a strategic vision. The place chosen is located on the railway junction of the border town.

To identify the architectural project that best meets the needs formulated in the announcement, a competition was organised in which 51 practices with interdisciplinary groups took part. All the competing projects will be exhibited to the public at the Spazio Officina, with their models, in an exhibition that can be used both by experts and by the broader public sensitive to future developments for the education of the younger generations.

The winning project is “Cerniera” (“Hinge”) presented by the interdisciplinary group led by the architectural firm Boltas Bianchi Architetti of Agno, comprising Ezio Tarchini ingegneria SA of Agno (civil engineers), the engineering firm Visani Rusconi and Talleri di Taverne (RCVS plant engineers), Notari Mauro di Agno engineering firm (Electrotechnical systems engineers), Eco Control SA of Locarno (construction physics), TEA sagl of Melano (Fire safety specialists).