MdAA Architetti Associati Wins Palais Campofranco Revitalization in Bolzano

MdAA Architetti Associati has won the invited competition to revitalize Palais Campofranco, a historic Habsburg residence in Bolzano, Italy. The project, commissioned by owner Georg Graf Kuenburg and project manager Franz-Ferdinand Graf Huyn, covers nearly 5,000 square meters and is expected to conclude in spring 2020. The design transforms the courtyard into a public space, featuring a sunken commercial level and a glass restaurant pavilion with a solar chimney by Stahlbau Pichler. A key constraint was preserving a 5-meter-diameter root zone around a centuries-old Ginkgo biloba tree, a gift from Princess Sissi to Archduke Heinrich. Excavation revealed fluvial sediments and ignimbrite from 295-246 million years ago, when Bolzano was near the equator. Landscape architect Stefano Olivari incorporated these geological layers, using excavated stones and Chinese flora to echo the tree's origins. The project also includes new entrance halls connecting the garden courtyard to the historic city center.