Architects: Durisch + Nolli Architetti, Bearth & Deplazes Architekten.
Location: Bellinzona, Switzerland.
Year: 2013.
Photography: Tonatiuh Ambrosetti, Kuster Frey.
The 2013 Federal Criminal Court building is located on Via Stefano Franscini, at the place of the former School of Business. The neoclassical oeuvre has been conceived as the entrance building, and it is now the new home for the Federal Criminal Court. A new white concrete structure with three floors was built to take on the neoclassical building’s plastic character, with small superposed cantilevers and narrow openings. Two courtyards provide natural light for the interior spaces and act as orientation points. The main courtroom is introduced by a small visiting room, adjacent to the secondary courtroom and the press room.
On the top floor, a library occupies the spaces around the main courtroom. Two features define the architecture: the smooth, white concrete, and the ornamentation within the courtrooms. Natural light has also an important role in this building since it gives spaces a discreet serenity. The new Federal Criminal Court building in Bellinzone is made of exposed white concrete, an uncommon choice for this kind of program since most of the courtrooms have wooden floors, ceilings, walls and furniture. The courtrooms are conceived as square floor spaces topped by a pyramidal dome with a skylight that provides natural light.
The surfaces of the dome are richly ornamented with perforated triangular panels which create an interesting pattern suggesting baroque elements. The white colour of the concrete refers to clarity, purity and truth, but also to the blank page and impartiality, creating a monumental structure at the same time peaceful and realistic.
