An ecological footprint combined with a technologically advanced solution and a harmonious integration of the surrounding area: these are the focuses of TP4 Associati's signature architectural concept for the Lombardy Group's new Coop building in Como, Italy, built by Rubner.

"The new Coop store, according to the client's guidelines," explains Giorgio Motta of TP4 Associati, "had to combine the philosophy of sustainability with Coop's organic product line. That's why we thought of a green "wall" that would act as a filter between the outside and the proper store, anticipating and preparing the customer for the product inside".

To lower the environmental impact, the architecture was built on the site of a former car dealership without building additional cubage. The commitment to sustainability is visible from afar, at the appearance of the timber facade covered with 1,000 m² of vertically arranged lichen, grass and moss, and equipped with an irrigation system. The goal of TP4 Associates and Rubner was to bring a piece of forest back to the city.

Past the entrance, a wide gallery dominates the architecture to accompany visitors to the 2,500 m² area that also houses several shopping stores. Made entirely of timber, the gallery consists of a load-bearing structure of laminated larch and roof and walls of universal panels. At the sight, both inside and out, timber is the building's great protagonist along with the inherent long-term structural challenge: durability. Exposure to weathering involved analysis and evaluation to identify the structural and technological solution to ensure the best long-term stability of the building to the pitfalls of time. Rubner timber, in addition to being sustainable, allowed the construction of the exoskeleton as well as the gallery to be built quickly and reliably.