Lugano’s distinctive waterfront is an opportunity to create a responsive edge for the city, experimenting with novel ways of blending nature and urban space.
– Carlo Ratti

Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) and Mobility in Chain (MIC) have unveiled a new vision for the waterfront of Lugano, Switzerland, aimed at better linking the city to its glacial lake with a system of innovative public spaces.

The plan addresses a current disconnection between the city and Lake Lugano by partly pedestrianising the congested waterfront and creating a dynamic road system that can be configured to have zero, one or two lanes for traffic as required.

A system of smart signage, responsive street furniture, infrastructure that produces clean energy from heat absorption, and a series of mobility hubs providing access to different modes of shared transport will be developed, while provisions for electric autonomous vehicles and micro-mobility solutions will also be made.

New public spaces will include a floating garden island connected by a new water navigation system and a number of new green areas.

Carlo Ratti, founding partner at CRA and director of the Senseable City Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said: “Lugano’s distinctive waterfront, nestled between the Swiss Alps and the glacial lake, is an opportunity to create a responsive edge for the city, experimenting with novel ways of blending nature and urban space."