Sementina today is a neighbourhood of the city of Bellinzona. It is situated on the western side of the alluvial fan of the mountain stream of the same name. The locality has undergone several rapid transformations throughout its history: the construction of the cantonal thoroughfare at the beginning of the nineteenth century which partly demolished the centre of the village, the embanking of the stream at the turn of the twentieth century, the axis road through the locality and then the motorway. All these transformations radically shaped and modified the surroundings. Rapid carpet-like growth in the nineteen seventies led to Sementina, by now a small town, losing its points of reference.

The ‘Ciossetto’ area, which planning regulations in 1969 designated for public use, used to be a large tract of vineyards. It is situated to the southeast of the group of buildings around the church, bound to the northeast by an ancient farm track and connected along Via Pro’ Grand to the main road, Via Al Ticino. Within the built-up area, this space was a welcome opportunity in which to recreate, through constructions of public utility, a new point of reference for the community by restoring its centre to the old village. The project gave shape to this empty space, demarcating it on the side opposite the church with the new volumes of the multi-purpose recreation hall and the gymnasium, connected by a paved square overlooking it. Later, with the construction of the new primary school on the western side, the space has become a large public courtyard, a breathing space within the built-up area. The new footpath demarcates the building terrain to the northeast and, crossing the ‘Ciossetto’ centre, connects the cluster of buildings around the church with the residential neighbourhood. The whole is made up of low volumes that relate to the nearby buildings in a balanced way. The horizontality of the constructions interact with the church’s verticality. The stone cladding of the facades relates to the ancient farm track and to the many dry stone walls still present in the surroundings.

The project, the result of a 1998 architecture competition, was implemented in phases. It unfortunately met a series of obstacles to obtaining the various planning permits due to appeals lodged by a private individual. The primary school should have been built concurrently with the extension of the gymnasium in 2014. It eventually obtained final planning permission only in 2021.

The executive project for the primary school was developed in 2014. Meanwhile not only were there changes in building regulations but especially there were developments in teaching objectives that had to be taken into account. It was precisely in order not to build a new school based on outmoded teaching methods that the project was revised and, without modifying either the framework or the volumes, it was possible to adapt it to the new teaching approach without drastic changes

Photographs: © 2025 Marcelo Villada Ortiz