The MaxMuseo originated from the desire to dedicate a museum for visual and applied arts to the graphic designer Max Huber. On request, the city of Chiasso provided the architect with a garage site that had stood empty for years as a location for the new museum. This industrial wasteland, an area of noman’s land in the urban ensemble between the theatre and school district, was the subject of an overall plan: the vision of a new location was created. The museum became a catalyst for a new cultural district of nationwide importance. The MaxMuseo is a simple building that is substantially characterised by corresponding structure and space. All the installations have been integrated into the structure. Various translucent layers surround the museum, complementary to the structure. The plinth creates a platform outside the building volume, connecting the museum to the public exterior areas. The existing garage was converted with a minimum of expenditure: the result was Spazio Officina, a new multipurpose hall with 800 m2 of utilisable space. The synergy between the museum, multipurpose hall, theatre and outside spaces, as well as that between the public and private investors, comprises the essence of the new location. A fundamentally urbanistic, architectural, functional and cost-effective synergy.
Cultural Centre: m.a.x. Museo and Spazio Officina
Cultural Centre
Applied products
Project credits
Product spec sheet
Project data
- Project Year
- 2005
m.a.x. Museo
Applied products
Architect: Pia Durisch & Aldo Nolli, CH - Chiasso
Product: LINIT®EcoGlass P 26/60/7, low iron, solar, TH (toughened, heat-soak-test)
Awards: SIA Tessin: Best public building (2007)
Photos: Gian Paolo Minelli, Max Huber, Kono Foundation
LAMBERTS glass factory is one of the two largest cast glass factories in Europe and has one of the most modern plant and machine parks anywhere. LAMBERTS is the only glass factory in Europe to manufacture U profile glass in all stages of production. U-profiled glass, also called U-glass or channel glass, is used for elaborate, design-driven architectural projects all over the world due to its quality, refinement possibilities, clear forms and technical variety. Furthermore, we are the only cast glass company in the world to manufacture all types of existing cast glass: LINIT®EcoGlass (U-Glass), a special and "U"-shaped rolled glass, ornament glass (also available as a special patterned glass for facades), antimony-free solar glass LAMBERTS EcoSolar (optimized cast glass generating solar power), wired glass and wired ornament glass. LAMBERTS Eco-Ornament Glasses are frequently used in facades as an alternative to neutral float glass or in combination with float glass due to their impressive play of light.
