Lakefront Lugano is a winning proposal by Pessina Architects for Comune di Lugano in 2024. It is located in Lugano Switzerland in a lake setting. Its scale is large with a surface of 17.000 sqm a budget of 5.000.000 € and a ratio of 294 €/sqm. Filippo Bolognese collaborated as visualizer. Concepts such as connection mobility and water are explored. Review the 2 proposals for the same competition.

The competition » Riqualifica giardino Belvedere, nuovo imbarcadero, comparto scalinata e funicolare degli Angioli, parco Tassino, Lugano » includes three intervention lots:1: Boardwalk Area with Piazza Luini and Lakefront; 2: Staircase Area, 3: Funicular Area, Footbridge and Tassino Park. The project «Le Città Contiunue» has won first prize for the first lot and second prize for lots 2 and 3.

The area consists of two differently characterized parts, the Belvedere Garden and “Piazza Luini”, with the presence of a new fountain and floating islands marking the space between them. In the Belvedere Garden, from a spacious lakeside «esplanade» rise the existing tall trees preserved alongside new additions, denser in the interior more sparse toward the shore. The belvedere pavilion contributes to the value of the public space. The architectural vocabulary of the pavilion is defined in analogy with the proposed interventions as a whole, referring to the light constructions on the lakefront and the funicular infrastructure.

In the “Piazza Luini”, the repetition of the existing pavement and its extension up to the shore brings the ensemble of Angioli church, ex-Palace Hotel and LAC Museum back to unity. Through the vegetation and the two layings of the steps, the succession of the three different architectures is also rhythmic and rebounded on the edge of the lake. The free area in front of the LAC Museum offers a «Piazza» open to the panorama framed by the walls of the museum and the ex-Palace Hotel.

The pier and the restaurant volume are located in the appendix of land beyond the shore, which becomes part of the public space. A simple and light volume fits in in a sober manner, respecting the lakefront view of the Angioli Church. The volume of the restaurant is constrained by the characteristics of the lake bottom, which drops steeply a few meters from the shore. The service part lies on the land, the restaurant function, located where the bottom is still low, is based on stilts, while the terrace on the lake hangs from the rafters of the primary structure stretching toward the horizon.

3158-SSI-LUG.CH-2024 — Posted in 2024 — Explore more projects on masterplan public space and waterfront — Climate: oceanic / maritime and temperate — Coordinates: 45.9986931, 8.9488623 — Team: Luca Pessina, Marta Locarno, Alessandro Luraschi — Consultant: Ingeni SA Engineers; Reali Guscetti Engineers — Landscape: Lorenz Eugster Landscape Architecture — Views: 1.202