Monte Generoso is flourishing!
VISS facade for Mario Bottas «Steinblume»
On 29 March 2017, on Monte Generoso in southern Tessin at around 1,700 m above sea level, the new mountain restaurant "Fiore di pietra", created by Mario Botta, was officially inaugurated in the presence of guests from politics and business.
©Fotos: Enrico Cano
Typical Botta
With its grey, natural stone external cladding, alternating with horizontal stripes of smooth and rough design, the "Steinblume" also bears the typical signature of the renowned architect and lends the construction its unmistakable structure.
Corners and petals
The building is characterised by its octagonal base surrounded by a group of five-storey towers – with a slight overhang at the bottom that closes off again towards the top. As a result the arrangement of the individual components is reminiscent of petals. The rather more closed-looking towers are connected to one another with generously glazed areas providing spectacular views. In the spirit of a corolla, the building structure has a space on the east side for a terrace that follows the course of the mountain ridge.
360°-Panorama
The new mountain restaurant adorns the peak of a rocky mountain plateau and offers a breath-taking panoramic view from the Po valley in south to Lake Lugano and the Alps in the north.
Steel at lofty heights
The climate in the alpine regions places high requirements on the buildings there. Particularly steel systems optimally withstand the often changeable weather conditions with significant temperature fluctuations and strong winds. We are pleased that our highly thermally insulated VISS steel system was used for the exterior facade of the "Steinblume".
Fire safety «under control»
In isolated locations - such as on Monte Generoso - the topic of fire safety is particularly important. The fire safety concept requires fire doors between the public staircase and the individual spaces on every floor of the building. For this reason our fire safety profiles are also be found in the building in the form of the VISS Fire and Janisol 2 EI30.
Logistical challenges
Without an access road and with an often harsh mountain climate, sophisticated logistics are necessary. For this reason a cable car was built to remove the rubble and to supply new construction materials; this cable car ran from Muggio for 2.5 km to Monte Generoso. It was able to transport loads of up to 6 t. In each direction there were 3000 journeys that transported more than 20‘000 t of material over almost two years.
