TO Zermatton the slopes of the Matterhorn, the skyscraper highest in all of Switzerland: with its 260 meters of height – for a total of 65 floors and 550 residential unitsand – Lina Peak aims to become a vertical village capable of hosting residents and tourists in the heart of Alpsoffering an almost direct connection to the ski resorts.
According to the official project, the tower – which would be positioned as the 9th tallest building in Europeapproximately 82 meters higher than Roche Tower in Basel – it would also include a concert hall, a panoramic terrace, a swimming pool and a car park with around 1,000 spaces: the overall cost should be around 500 million Swiss francs (around 533 million euros at current exchange rates). The objective of the promoting architect, Heinz Julenis that of deal with the housing crisis of Zermatt, among the most visited places in the Swiss country. If confirmed, construction work is expected to continue until 2034.
The Lina Peak project, the tallest skyscraper in Switzerland
In detail, Lina Peak should be built on agricultural land of 6,000 square meters, for a total of 65 floors, 550 housing units and an overall height of 260 meters. To get an idea, the skyscraper would be approx 50 meters higher from the Allianz Tower of Milan.
The tower would also include a private cable car for direct access to the slopes, together with a concert hall for 2500 people, shopsone panoramic terrace on the roof, an indoor swimming pool, a public gym and a nursery reserved for residents, as well as a covered car park with 1,000 spaces.
As reported by the official website, the Lina Peak project includes a division into two living areas:
- From floor 2 to floor 32 the homes will be dedicated to residents and workers and rented at fair prices, with discounted rates for Zermatt residents.
- From floor 33 to floor 62 the homes will instead be put up for sale on the free market, so as to be able to finance the entire project.
The last 3 floors will finally be dedicated to the panoramic terrace and the swimming pool.
The town of Zermatt, located in the Canton of Valais, is located at the foot of Mount Matterhorn, at 1,600 meters above sea level. It is one of the busiest places in Switzerland: the village has a population of around 6,000 inhabitants, but within this year there have already been registered 900,000 visitors, without considering the tourists of the Christmas period.
Also for this reason, the project involves the construction of a building developed in heightrather than in width: the Mattertal valley, in which Zermatt is located, is in fact particularly narrow and building land is limited.
Criticism of the 260 m tower: architect Heinz Julen and the housing crisis
Clearly, this ambitious project has attracted numerous criticisms, not only for the environmental impact of the skyscraper. The promoter of the project, in fact, is the architect Heinz Julenalready known for his particularly daring and often unachievable projectsincluding a hotel with a pressurized cabin at the top of the Klein Matterhorn or a hotel with beds and a bathtub on a rotating platform.
Among other things, Heinz’s brother, Franz Julenis president of the Board of Directors of Zermatt Bergbahnen AG, the company that manages the ski lifts. The other brother Max Julianhowever, is the owner of a refuge on the slopes. In short, among the skeptics of the project there are those who fear that it is an initiative to extend it further Julen family control over the village of Zermatt, creating a project of great visual and environmental impact. Nonetheless, the declared objective is to remedy the housing crisis in the village, which has become one of the most visited tourist destinations in Switzerland. The promoting architect would only get 25% of the shares of Lina Peak, while the remaining part would go to any external shareholders, including the Municipality and the local railway company.
In any case, as reported by the Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger, experts have defined the tower project as “realistic”, while a feasibility study would have given the green light for construction in the agricultural area. In any case, construction of Lina Peak has not yet been approved: first, at least 600 signatures will be needed to be able to reclassify the agricultural area as building land. At that point, popular approval by vote will be necessary: if the project is confirmed, work should continue until 2034.
