Bagno Pubblico
Bellinzona, Switzerland 1967-1970
A territorial structure
The approach to the public swimming pool materializes as a reinforced concrete structure that builds the landscape and organizes the territory. Materializing a path or, simply, building a path six metres above the level that goes from town to river, crossing the emptiness of the Ticino flood plain, means relating the public space of the baths with the plain, the hill of Castelgrande, the town, the mountains, and the sky. An overall spatial vision is implemented to address all functional, organizational and management aspects: the town is connected with the river across a large void by a walkway, a structure that brings openness to the town’s extension, designed within the landscape, ready to welcome new activities. The reinforced concrete of the footbridge expresses this urban dimension, with an underlying metal structure to articulate the different functions. The green of the meadow with its pools, meanwhile, remains the same lawn as ever, but is now an open public space.
Pablo Casals Aguirre