Two-stage open architecture design competition

The project proposal for Parco San Rocco in Morbio Inferiore, Switzerland, goes beyond the traditional model of medicalised residential care for the elderly, proposing an intergenerational neighbourhood where care, socialising, landscape and urban life intertwine in an open and inclusive system. The project is located along the southern edge of the historic centre, between the town hall, the church of San Rocco and the Breggia valley, transforming a marginal location into an urban threshold between the city and nature. A new multifunctional public square becomes the civic heart of the project, a place of access and encounter for residents, visitors and citizens. The masterplan consists of two residential buildings connected by a low, transparent volume, which links the two main levels of the lot and houses collective and public functions. The project is designed as an ecological and social infrastructure, integrating a public park, therapeutic gardens and accessible green spaces. From a functional point of view, the complex organises public spaces, services and residential areas: the square also houses a civic centre open to the community, while the housing units, organised into small clusters, offer a flexible and recognisable domestic environment.