The Isarco River is a central, dividing geographical feature for the old heart of Bressanone, wrapping around the monumental cathedral. At the point where the river joins the Rienza rises the district of Stufles, from which this development draws its name. This complex has 34 apartments plus a multi-storey public parking garage on the basement levels. Integration between architecture and the urban landscape is at the core of this project. The underlying idea was to give the complex a clearly recognisable identity with a balanced contemporary feel. This is done through generally adopting an egalitarian approach to liveability and through the layout of the apartments, the openness to the exterior (an integral part of each apartment) and the creation of structures that are noticeable, but fit into the urban surrounds. There is almost a yearning to create something of a "community" through the sharing of defining elements. An implicit acceptance of a specific urban and architectural approach pervades the complex, manifesting itself most clearly in the quality of the apartments through the architectural connotations, the layout of the semi-public spaces and the paths that cross the complex.
The design uses the slope both to locate the two and three-storey units and to generate suggestions for the overall composition, ensuring wonderful views of the city and the surrounding landscape. Each unit has more than one apartment, but they are located across the rise in a tidy, geometric pattern.
The use of lines in the design is marked. For example, the roofs, including some at an angle, are powerful visual features topping the open, glazed elevations. Similarly, the lines of the floor level are also very evident, creating a frame in combination with the sidewalls and the roofs, which are covered in greenery or solar panels. The composition of the main façades is defined by the connections between key elements. The balconies, for example, are within the line of the façade, forming protected loggias that extend the rooms - normally living rooms - linked to them. The large glazed façades fit within geometrical frames, providing remarkable views in various directions but especially of the monumental cathedral, which looks little more than a stone's throw away. The use of glass also provides the rooms with plenty of natural light, including the full-height spaces in some of the double-storey apartments.
The area around the complex is an equally important part of the project, developing according to a conception parallel to the architectural design. These spaces are directly related to the actual buildings, helping create the character of the area. The coherent union of volumes and surfaces helps "mediate" between density and dilution, and ancient monumentality and modern daily life in a measured contemporary architectural language.

Francesco Pagliari
 

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