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S oglio is the hometown of Ruinelli. How did you experience this place? Time
seems to have stood still there in a positive way …
Yes, that was also my first impression if i saw this place. Just getting there certainly
contributes to this feeling. As I was to learn, numerous things are deliberately still
the same as many years ago to preserve the traditions and the culture. This historic
backdrop in the mountains is incredibly calming. The place exudes a kind of pea-
cefulness. When you start talking and living with the people on site, however, and
take a closer look behind the scene, you notice that time has by no means stood
still. On the contrary. Two architectural offices in the village continuously work on
further developing the region. The Hotel Palazzo Salis offers numerous cultural
events. Contemporary artists, culture festivals, exhibitions, authors and musicians
continue to enliven the Bregaglia Valley. And all the people do not live in the past
at all. The Cultural politics affect everyone wich I talked to. Soglio gradually appea-
red to me to be one of the few places where all the people actually live very cons-
ciously in the present.

r Take us mentally along to the office. How is work being accomplished at Ar-
mando Ruinelli right in the middle of the village of Soglio?
A working day in Soglio starts early. I was usually the last to boot up my computer
at eight o’clock. Until about 6 p.m., the employees enjoy a calm yet also lively work Foto: Ralph Feiner; Ruinelli Associati Architetti
atmosphere. Each one works autonomously on various projects. The team is small.
Mostly, there were three of us and never more than five people. Armando Ruinelli
and Fernando Giovanoli have been partners of Ruinelli Associati Architetti since
2000. These two are the representative core, they are the main contact persons and Büropartner: Fernando Giovanoli, Armando Ruinelli • Office partners: Fernando Giovanoli, Armando Ruinelli
decision-makers. Fernando Giovanoli is also engaged in regional politics. Armando
Ruinelli regularly travels for the Tyrol design committee for architecture, as a jury
member, for lectures and other external tasks. Fabio Rabbiosi and Anna Innocenti,
long-standing office assistants, come two to three times a week from Morbegno/Son-
drio in Italy and otherwise work in their home offices. The geographical and social „Der Verzicht auf Selbstdarstellung ist eines
proximity to Italy influences the everyday use of language: a mix of Italian, High Ger- der Qualitätsmerkmale der Architektur von
man, Swiss German and Bregaglia dialect.
Ruinelli Associati.“
r We live in a world of abundance, self-portrayal and a waste of resources. What Lisa Seefried
can Ruinelli’s architecture teach us?
Dispensing with self-portrayal is one of the quality features of his architecture. Rui-
nelli Associati Architetti do not produce large images. Paramount is a building which
serves its purpose and looks unobtrusive, above all from the outside, almost modest.
Since the effect to the outside has been reduced, the inside has all the more. As to Sportliche Wochenenden: Wandern im Bergell • Sporty weekends: hiking in the Bregaglia
resources, Armando Ruinelli uses materials from the region as often as possible. In
Bregaglia, these are, for instance, chestnut wood and gneiss and quarry stone from
the surrounding mountains. A close and long-term cooperation with local painters,
carpenters and quarries allows not only short transport routes, but also strengthens
the local economy and makes the processes in all the construction phases easier. In
the use of resources, his architecture also teaches us to act with caution – to preserve
what is worth preserving and to carefully renovate what is there.

r Which are the projects to which you were allowed to contribute during your
internship, and which were your tasks?
The very first projects on which I collaborated was the conversion of the mill and
the Scartazzini home in Promontogno. The truss of the mill was rotten and had to be
replaced with a new one. In addition of this, after the expansion more storage areas
were to be gained and work processes optimized. For this purpose, we developed
several ideas in dialogue with the clients for which I had to prepare plans, drawings
and visualizations. For the Scartazzini home, I also carried out the design studies for
the conversion and the expansion of the villa. For a patrician house in Vicosoprano,
together with Fernando I did the building survey for a residential unit and collabo-
rated on the design planning for the conversion. For the conversion project of a stone
house in Soglio, I also took on several tasks of the building survey and constructed
a model on the scale of 1:20 for additional studies on the interior. I focused most on
the open competition for the Büchenwald football stand in Gossau, St Gall, carrying
out several design studies and did the plan draft for preparing the submission of all Foto: Romano Salis, Maloja
the documents. On this basis, we had regular discussions in the office and jointly
optimized our ideas.

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