Casa della Mobilità

In Bolzano, where the historic city centre meets the railway station, Casa della Mobilità proposes a new approach to the office building: not as an isolated object, but as an active part of an urban system shaped by people, infrastructure, energy and public space. Designed by Park and selected through an international competition, the project brings together the Department of Infrastructure and Mobility, the Mobility Division and STA – South Tyrol Transport Structures under one roof. The new building replaces an existing structure that no longer met current functional and structural requirements. Its replacement therefore became an opportunity to rethink not only the workplace, but the relationship between the building, public space and the wider mobility system. Set within an area characterised by the railway station, a roundabout and a heterogeneous mix of buildings and infrastructure, the project establishes a new urban edge and helps reconnect a district undergoing transformation. The compact volume, comprising approximately 6,000 sqm above ground and 2,000 sqm below ground, responds to its context through a geometry that adapts to the different sides of the site and progressively tapers towards the top. This reduces the building’s impact on the surrounding residential buildings, while a setback along Via Raiffeisen creates a new public square. The pedestrian realm is extended towards the entrance, transforming the space in front of the building into a place for interaction. Opening the building to the city also means making what happens inside more visible. On the ground floor, shared spaces establish a direct relationship with the public realm and are organised around a double-height hall, conceived as a representative space for the two institutions. On the upper levels, the workspaces are arranged to encourage interaction between people and different areas of expertise, with spaces for breaks and informal exchange that foster a shared sense of community within the workplace. The structure itself contributes to this experience. The project uses a timber load-bearing structure, required from the outset by the competition brief, which remains visible throughout the interiors thanks to the absence of suspended ceilings. Timber therefore becomes an integral part of the architecture: rather than being concealed, it expresses the building’s construction logic and gives the interiors a distinctive material quality. A lightweight and easily accessible services system integrates with the exposed structure, supporting the flexibility of the spaces and their ability to adapt over time. The internal organisation is based on a series of recurring modules that also become the generative principle for the façade. The regular rhythm of the aluminium vertical elements derives directly from the office layout and reinterprets the pattern of traditional shingles found in Alpine architecture and in some of Bolzano’s historic buildings. A reference to the local context is not reproduced literally, but transformed through a contemporary architectural language. The shingles incorporate photovoltaic elements, turning the envelope into an active surface capable of generating energy. The façade thus becomes part of the building’s environmental strategy, bringing together architectural identity and performance. The project’s approach to sustainability is conceived as an integrated system. The compact form contributes to optimising the performance of the building envelope, while the combination of the timber structure, efficient building services and integrated energy production helps reduce operational energy consumption. In a territory characterised by significant seasonal temperature variations, the building is designed to maintain high levels of performance throughout the year. Any surplus energy produced can also be shared with the adjacent public transport infrastructure. The building is therefore not conceived as a self-contained system, but as part of a wider network in which resources can be generated, used and shared. The same principle informs the landscape design. External surfaces prioritise permeable solutions, while much of the existing vegetation is retained and complemented by new planting. The entrance square, the external area facing the roundabout and the more secluded space at the rear of the building create a sequence of distinct environments, contributing to the environmental quality and resilience of the area. Casa della Mobilità reinterprets the office building as an urban infrastructure: a workplace that connects institutions and people, generates energy, makes responsible use of resources and creates new relationships between mobility, public space and the city.