Massimo Cattaneo (Balerna, 1962) and Gianni Birindelli (Florence, 1952) founded their architectural practice in Balerna in 1992; their friendship, however, dates back much earlier.

Both graduates of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), they share the same passions for architecture and travel during which they have developed international contacts, research and experiments on wood and its derivatives since the early 1990s.

Academic activity has from the beginning flanked their architectural practice. Gianni Birindelli at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) from 1981 to 2017, first as an assistant and then as a lecturer. Massimo Cattaneo, after years as an assistant at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio (AAM) and several semesters as a lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture in Alghero, Italy, is currently a lecturer in design at the DACD of SUPSI in Mendrisio.

“Photography can capture the moment when the soul of the building stands before the observer; Alexandre knows how to fix it on the lens.”

LOKOMOTIV.archs office – LKMV is a multidisciplinary office that ranges in design in all its forms and scales.
The founding ideal of design practice is based on the analysis of universal elements, which each time nourishes the formal consciousness that manifests itself in a type of approach bent to the dynamic behavior of contemporary society, its facets, the flow of the economy, cultural development, socio-political diversity, territoriality.
The conceived, designed and built object does not have an aesthetic matrix, but rather develops from a reflection on the territory, on the relationship between spatiality and perception, and on the consciousness of the economic, social and political impact that architecture has on the urban fabric that will accommodate the object.
The resolution of the technical-constructive details, which refers to a functional approach to the built reality, converges to confer an aesthetic value that is strengthened over time.
LOKOMOTIV archs. studio has collaborated with such recognized offices as Aurelio Galfetti, Mario Botta, Elia Zenghelis and Peter Zumthor.
Founded in 2006 by architects Alberto Julio Fresco and Anita Lara Bulloni (Master of Science in Architecture at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio), it has benefited from the collaboration and integration of architects Juan M.Campopiano and Lucia Cardona.
Currently, LOKOMOTIV.archs. studio is headed by architect Alberto Julio Fresco.

Architect Alberto J. Fresco

Alberto Julio Fresco is an architect and designer known for his innovative approach and attention to cultural and environmental context. He has worked on projects ranging from residential to public architecture, always seeking to integrate functionality and aesthetics. His career is characterized by a strong commitment to sustainability and the use of local materials, reflecting a deep respect for the area in which he works.
Alberto Julio Fresco was born in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina, on May 3, 1979. After attending the U.N.T Technical Institute from 1992 to 1997, he obtained the title of Technical Constructor in 1998 and began studying Architecture at the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. In his second year of study he participated in a competition that secured him a scholarship to the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio, where he moved in 1999. On May 9, 2005, he received the Diploma of Architect at the Academy, under the guidance of Professor Elia Zenghellis, with a project on Padua and its Roman centuriation. In 2005 he founded the architectural firm LOKOMOTIV.archs office.

The collaboration with Alexandre, born by chance, soon became an enriching friendship. The continuous exchange of critical approaches and sharp irony allow me to discover new aspects in the objects our office has designed. Thanks to the always gratefully unexpected gaze of his lens, I am able to perceive details and nuances that enrich our vision and imbue us with continuous discoveries.

Alexandre is a passionate and charismatic professional who, through light, creates striking shots that capture the perfect moment

Born in Naples where she graduated in Architecture in 1983. She has always been involved in interior design and renovation.
The main theme of her work is the search for the essence of things. As such, her architectures are always clean, abstract, conceptual… and very imperfect, because beauty lies in imperfection and incompleteness.
Only an imperfect, incomplete interior is an interior on a human scale.

It was great to work with Alexander. He is imaginative, ironic, critical and philosophical at the same time.
His shots get right to the essence of things.

We strive to try to intercrpt the needs of places, context and people.

The project is not indifferent to the territory that is instead its principle.

Alexandre is an artist who collaborates with the sun

Growing up in Naples, he moved to Ticino in 2008. He studied architecture at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio where he received his Master in Science of Architecture USI in 2015.

He works in Paris and Basel and is formed through collaboration with many well-known architects in the Ticino area.

He works as an assistant of the design course of the master in architecture at the Academy of Mendrisio. He opens his own studio Klingenberg Arkitektur SA in the historical Pollini building in Mendrisio in 2015.

He realizes architectural, interior, landscape and urban planning projects.

Alexandre’s genius appears to lie in his humility, in the disarming self-irony with which he downplays his maniacal dedication to what appears not as his work but as the deepest expression of himself. On this plane we found ourselves looking not seeing the same details, the same shadows and the same lights.

After working as a designer for two architectural firms in the Bellinzona area, I decided to go freelance in 2013.

My activity mainly concerns residential architecture, ranging from renovations to new constructions, from single-family buildings to multi-family buildings. I have also participated in several architectural competitions.

The design choices must arise from the real needs (and aspirations) of space, to be then realised with suitable and appropriate means in the context in which we operate.

I find Alexandre to be a quirky and very outgoing person. A true artist who viscerally embodies his craft. 
We were fortunate to be able to host him and his faithful collaborator Luca for a day and a half at our home. It was also an opportunity to have them as guests for more informal moments…such as having lunch or tasting a good Belgian Trappist beer…a real hoot!

Giuliano Moggio was born in Horgen (ZH) in ’68, after a few years his family moved to Ticino, first to Agno and then to Bioggio.

He attends the STS school of architecture that he finishes in 1989 obtaining the Maraini prize and the first Schindler prize established for the best student.

He starts his activity as an architect working as a designer in some well-known studios in the Lugano area, then he decides to take on the role of executive manager in an important real estate studio in Lugano, where he gains a wide experience in all the different sectors.

In 2000 he opens his own architecture studio, first in Vezia and then in Bioggio.

I thank Alexandre Zveiger for the excellent work performed, he was able to capture and enhance the positive aspects of my achievements generating, with his photos, real emotions.