"Valascia is the cathedral of Leventina"
The architect Mario Botta explains his vision for the new Ambrì Piotta hockey rink. A project that is intended to shape the landscape and life of Leventina and in which the Ticino star architect expresses his entire vision of architecture. And he briefly remembers the masters who inspired him and his architectural concept.
As an Ambrì fan, it must be an incredible satisfaction to be able to shape the history of this glorious sports club.
In tackling this reconstruction project, I realized that Valascia today can be interpreted as the “cathedral” of Leventina, in the sense that it gathers an identity that comes from afar. This identity has not yet been fully expressed, but when I heard the south curve roar, there is something anthropological in which the origins of man are felt, the need for collective encounter, the need to claim one’s own identity. Therefore, objectively, there is not only the sporting side, but something that affects the relationship between people and their country. For this reason, the reconstruction had to take place first in the place where the old Valascia stood, because here is this spirit. We must therefore ensure that it does not remain an isolated structure with the risk that it only lives on weekends. It therefore deserves the effort to make it a multipurpose space; at least on purpose, then it will be life to determine its use and use. It was an opportunity to try to add structure that can bring the valley to life.
Will it be recognizable as a Botta project in the sense that it bears a characteristic mark of your architectural style?
It is not important that it is recognizable as my project, even if the architectural language is always the same. What is important is that it has a meaning for wellbeing and that it is clear in the reading. Well, it shouldn’t be what it risked, this is an anonymous shack where hockey is played, like most Swiss stadiums that look like supermarkets. I tried to make the artifact easier to read while highlighting the individual parts. Hence articulating the interiors to ensure that those who pass the autobahn also recognize that there is an event taking place here and that it is neither a sideshow, nor a market, nor a simple warehouse. Because if you add a suburban shed, you’re not doing much service to landscape culture.
Is the work going according to plan? Will the new Valascia be ready for the next championship in 2021/22?
This depends on adherence to our program, which is, however, linked to seasonal weather conditions. In practice, it depends on how much snow falls. We went well in the first year because we were able to work long hours in the winter months and then start again in February / March. Now it all depends on the weather and this damn Covid, because now we can no longer rely solely on planning. This is also a sign of our fragility as a civilization. Up until a few years ago it seemed that technology could do anything, now we’ve seen that it doesn’t.
The new Stalvedro petrol station on the southern Gotthard portal also bears your signature in Leventina. What kind of project did you develop there?
It is certainly a more modest structure than the new Valascia. Basically, it is a gas station for refueling with a small shop and a refreshment area. In short, it is the typical motorway parking lot with associated services.
On an architectural level, I wanted to give those who drive on the freeway a signal that stands out from the usual petrol station roofs. So I thought of a zigzag roof inspired by the shape of a lightning bolt. Perhaps the user gets curious and stops for gasoline and a coffee. On the other hand, these structures have a temporary connotation, also due to the fact that the state concession provides for an administration of 25 years.
It is unlikely that there will be anyone to destroy a Botta, even in 25 years …
Why not! It would be normal too. Buildings are like men, they have to be born, but they also have to die at some point. I am not in favor of indefinite storage. If it is correct that a church lasts 200 years, it is also correct that a gas station lasts a few years.
In practice, there will be a botta along both directions of the motorway, both when entering Ticino and when leaving Ticino. A good sign for our canton …
It is so, but it was neither thought nor sought. It is a pure case of life. Not everything can be programmed and life occasionally leads to these coincidences that were neither imaginable nor programmable.
Do you have further projects in the pipeline in Ticino?
I have a construction site in Ticino that has been in operation for 10 or 12 years. This is the 4th phase of the Tenero Sports Center, during which the large gym and the rooms for the administration of the complex will be completed. The expansion work was carried out gradually because, as a good Swiss, you are not taking the longest step. But now there is a very strong demand and hence the need arose for this new gym and a new canteen for 400 meals. The work is expected to be completed in 2023.
And do you have major projects at stake in Central Switzerland and the rest of the world?
In Switzerland, I’m working on the new Baden spa, which will be inaugurated next year. This is a very extensive project that affects an entire historical area of the city on the banks of the Limatt, exactly where the ancient Roman baths stood 2000 years ago. We are now finishing the walk along the river. Internationally, there is a large church in Seoul in South Korea, which is now almost completed. Also in Asia I have the project for another museum at Tsinghua University in Beijing, which was unfortunately slowed down by the Covid pandemic.
Spas, museums, theaters, banks, casinos, libraries, religious buildings, now even an ice rink … you’ve reached it all. Still have a dream in the drawer that you haven’t been able to draw?
I prefer structures with direct and permanent participation, hence houses, schools, museums, places of worship. Places that satisfy the need for duration, that have a constant and are not at the mercy of the moment. When I think of it, I still lack a hospital, but it’s a very complex machine. It is a very sensitive subject, but also fascinating, because not only is there persistence and cyclical hospitalization, but it also contains the idea of pain, the confrontation with illness. But I would have to live 500 years to be able to achieve anything I want!
Finally, can you briefly remind us of your masters, the great architects who inspired you?
If I had been born in the 17th century, my teacher would surely have been Borromini. Given that I was born in post-Bauhaus culture at the turn of the two wars, my reference points are the great architects of the generation before me, hence Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn and Carlo Scarpa. I consider them masters of what they have represented for architecture and because I also had the privilege of knowing and working with them.
And among the young architects, who do you like?
There’s a lot of excitement, but in architecture we have to make age differences. Do you think Louis Kahn started work at the age of 50? It’s relatively late at our work. My case is extraordinary because I was lucky enough to do an apprenticeship with Tita Carloni in Lugano between the ages of 15 and 18. It must be taken into account that an architect usually leaves the training between the ages of 25 and 30. Then it takes another ten years before he begins to “understand”. And that’s why architects generally live long lives (laughs) … The prospects of seeing their own finished realization are always very far away. Among the so-called “young people”, however, what I like most is the Japanese Tadao Ando, who, although not very young, is young in his expression. Instead, there is a whole generation between mine and the next that has been swallowed up a bit in the vortex of globalization, and architecture has suffered a lot too. There is indeed a continual flattening of models and languages. It is enough to observe how glass and steel have now become routine. On the other hand, I believe that architecture is something else that is not the form, but the values of the space that determine its quality. At this point we are a little orphaned because after the great masters there were no more points of reference. ■
