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Over the past year, Moretti Modular Contractor has completed two construction sites in Italian-speaking Switzerland, most notably the “Il Triangolo” shopping center in Riazzino (Locarno). The client, Multimmobiliare & Partecipazioni SA, a company founded in 1998 and based in Locarno, engaged Moretti for preliminary consulting, engineering, construction, and assembly of the prefabricated components.

The multifunctional center, a building of approximately 4,500 m² spread over three floors, features a triangular floor plan that creates two striking acute angles in elevation. The volume is further distinguished by corten-effect cladding panels that frame large glazed surfaces.

Constructed on a lot that previously housed two triangular service buildings, the new complex includes office spaces, meeting rooms, catering facilities, and administrative offices, in addition to the predominant commercial area, which will partly be dedicated to local artisans.

The most distinctive feature of the intervention is the façade infill panels, finished with corten-effect paint. Designed and engineered to fulfill the designer’s requirements, their non-standard geometry required the creation of a bespoke formwork. The installation phase carried out with a mobile crane was particularly delicate: the 80 cm thickness and the panels’ shape produced a center of gravity unusually outside the section, resulting in out-of-plane bending moments and flexural stresses on the columns. To counteract this, it was necessary to gradually anchor the panels to the underlying structure and provide temporary shoring until the pouring of the composite topping slabs guaranteed the definitive stiffening of the planes.

Built largely in parallel with another Swiss project, the Arbed Smart Center, the complex tested Moretti Modular Contractor’s flexibility and customization capabilities. As demonstrated by both completed projects, these challenges were met and overcome with excellent results.

Project: Galli & Associati SA

NON CANCELLARE

Advantages

The structural design employed a hybrid system combining reinforced concrete and steel components, forming a classic 8×8 meter structural grid, with slabs 25 cm thick and a load capacity of 800 kg/m².
Moretti Modular Contractor played a crucial support role for the main contractor, fully handling the engineering, production, and assembly of the prefabricated structures. Production involved completing the concrete elements, which were then assembled and installed alongside steel components such as columns and beams.

In particular, these steel elements, together with the flat reinforced concrete slabs, enabled a very thin horizontal package that perfectly accommodates extensive systems installations without resulting in excessive ceiling bulk.
The volume of the shopping center, located in an industrial area between Via Cantonale 13 and the Bellinzona-Locarno railway line, immediately conveys a strong character thanks to the triangular shape producing two acute angles housing the stairwells; the façades with large glazed openings; and the large corten-effect cladding panels.

Moretti’s technical office arrived at the final aesthetic and performance solution for these panels after a detailed workshop study that required three prototype refinement phases. The size and weight of the elements demanded extreme care during installation to avoid any independent movement of the structure as each component was progressively fixed.

The realization stands as compelling proof of how Moretti’s innovative approach can effectively meet customers’ specific requests, customizations, and functional requirements, ensuring reduced and controlled timeframes and costs.