“In place of an abandoned factory, three small buildings on the river bank host 120 trees and 400 bushes on their faces, which on their own are able to produce more than 2.7 tons of oxygen per year. A discrete presence that recomposes the relationship between the city of Treviso, just a few steps away from the ancient walls, and the Sile River”. Stefano Boeri

Stefano Boeri Architetti signs Cà delle Alzaie project in Treviso: three buildings surrounded by a garden that directly faces the Sile River, crossing the city.

The three Cà delle Alzaie residences integrate the vegetation component into the architectural structure of the northern and southern exposures that, in different manners, host trees and large bushes which, in line with the research and design of Stefano Boeri Architetti on Urban Forestry, contribute to the environmental regeneration of this part of the city.

The three blocks are, on one hand, completely surrounded by a private garden, while on the other hand, establish a direct relationship with the river park through a public cycle- and foot-path connected to Viale IV Novembre, one of the main streets of Treviso, which leads directly to the heart of the historic center.

The buildings, each seven floors high, although placed beside each other, present slightly different orientation because they are rotated in order to have the optimal disposition of the windows, able to best guarantee privacy, optimize the exposure towards the south and the benefits in terms of energy comfort.

Each floor hosts two or three apartments, each with two or three bedrooms. All the daytime areas face south, towards the river, while the night areas face north.

The shrubbery and trees present on the building façades establish a visual relationship with the riparian forest on the opposite side of the Sile.

The southern façade is defined by a series of continuous terraces three meters deep and separated by vertical elements holding the plantings. Each apartment has access to the terrace and benefits from the shade of the crown of at least one tree.

The full length of the north façade, however, presents a series of linear overhanging vases for small and medium bushes, regularly interspersed with vertical containers, analogous to those on the southern façade, for medium and large bushes.

“Collectively, the created front is discontinuous but allows each individual building to fully benefit from the relationship with the landscape; even the garages and parking spaces are situated on an underground level covered with backfill that preserves the continuity of the green space that joins it to the public green space of the riverside”, says Marco Giorgio, Project Director of Stefano Boeri Architetti.

The approach to the project agreed with builders Mauro and Gianmarco Cazzaro immediately enlarges the view to the entire riverside area that, conceived as a linear park, connects directly to the historic center of the city.

The entire intervention created for Cazzaro Costruzioni sets out the reclamation of an area of approximately 10,700 m2 once destined for production and currently in a state of decay; the entire area has been subjected to recent requalification, particularly through the “Quattro Novembre” Reclamation Plan, which takes its name from the road that passes through the area.

The project’s main objective is to maximize the surface area dedicated to green, whether public or private. The green area of the block of flats is divided into private gardens of the ground floor residences and shared gardens that follow the gentle slope of the embankment to the bank of the Sile River.

Stefano Boeri Architetti

Year: 2016-2018

Location: Treviso, Italy

Client: Cazzaro Costruzioni

Program: Residential, requalification of ex-industrial area, external green areas and parking

Area 10,753 m2 - GFA 13,373 m2

Consultants: Dott. Eng. Laura Gatti, landscape agronomist; Eng. Giulio Contini, structure, administrative practices; Studio TFE, Eng. Pierluigi Fasan – Electrical System; Klimahouse, Geologist Massimo Conedera, Eng. Luca Casaril, Eng. Roberto Giorgi – Mechanical System; Dipae, Eng. Bruno Zorzi – Acoustics.

Services: Preliminary, Definitive, Landscape Architectural Design, Construction Permit

Stefano Boeri (Founding Partner), Marco Giorgio (Project Director) 

Team: Benedetta Cremaschi (Project Leader) - Maddalena Maraffi (Project Leader), Esteban Marquez, Moataz Faissal Farid, Daniele Barillari, Elisabetta Zuccala, Bogdan Peric, Agostino Bucci, Shilong Tan.