Dog Relais

Work supervision and safety coordination: 2024-2025

The Dog Relais is configured as the first dog hospitality facility created within an Italian airport: a space entirely designed around animal welfare, where environmental quality, comfort, and safety define an innovative service model dedicated to travelers and the airport community.

Located landside within the premises of Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, the complex covers an area of approximately 4,500 m², adjacent to the long-term parking facilities, and is conceived as a functional and welcoming system designed for both short and extended stays.

The spatial organization revolves around a main building dedicated to general services and facility management, which also houses a “day-care” area for dogs belonging to the airport community during working hours. The heart of the relais consists of 40 lodges, arranged in paired units and conceived as autonomous micro-environments: each includes a covered kennel area, a protected outdoor space, and an open fenced green area, ensuring optimal conditions of comfort, movement, and interaction with the environment. Two longitudinal canopies, developed along the north–south axis, connect the elements of the complex and define a unifying architectural gesture, guiding circulation between the main building and the large exercise areas dedicated to recreational activities.

The compositional matrix of the project draws inspiration from the dynamic language of Futurism and, in particular, from the research of Giacomo Balla on movement and the perception of motion in space. The dynamism evoked in his works becomes here the generating principle of form: the roof, conceived as a “fifth façade” visible from above, provides a recognizable image even from the aerial perspective, transforming the building into an identity landmark capable of engaging with the scale and speed of the airport context.