Casino in Campione d'Italia by Mario Botta

So far, I considered Botta's bank in Basel to be his most problematic realization. However, it has been overshadowed by the megalomaniacal casino project that opened last Wednesday in the Ticino town of Campione d'Italia. The thirteen-story temple of gambling measures a total of 70 meters. For 150 million Swiss francs, over 60,000 m² of space was created, accommodating 560 slot machines, 56 gaming tables, and a hotel. The building will serve up to three thousand gamblers.
The casino consists of a composition of several stone-clad volumes that together create a closed building mass. The dominant elements are two tall slender slabs to which additional geometric masses are terraced on the side. Towards the historic center, the building is then capped with a semicircular mass. Massive facades are pierced only by narrow slit-like windows.
The entire project is currently the target of harsh criticism. Link>