Italian architect Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) is to work with Milan-based transport company Mobility in Chain (MIC), to design a reconfigurable waterfront for Lugano, a town in southern Switzerland.
In a press release, MIC says the proposed plan contains public spaces including a floating garden and "reconfigurable roads" able to close or open lanes to respond to traffic need in real time.
The congested waterfront would become partially pedestrianised, and would include smart street signs and street furniture, and infrastructure that can produce energy from heat absorption.
Marco Borradori, the town’s mayor, said: "Lugano is committed to redesigning the lakefront and the city centre for future citizens, focusing on a growing attention to dynamic public spaces, the coexistence of different mobility vectors, the development of green areas, the role of the water in city life, the impact of the landscape, and much more.
"The path began in 2018, when the municipality went public with its vision and objectives, identifying innovation as one of the key points for urban development. The next step will hopefully be an open competition to create a new masterplan for the city of tomorrow."Â
Federico Parolotto, MIC’s senior partner, added: "By analysing mobile and traffic data, and backing up the mobility concept’s definition with a model-based scientific approach, we supported CRA’s vision of transforming today’s fractured lakefront into a responsive space, hosting new mobility solutions and enabling the waterfront to adjust dynamically to the vibrant ecosystem of Lugano."
Images courtesy of CRA/MIC
