Redevelopment of the Cassarate river mouth (foce)

Location: Cassarate, Via Foce

Competition: 2004

Project: 2004-2010

Implementation: 2012-2014

Landscape Architecture Studio: Officina del Paesaggio, Lugano

Landscape Architect: Sophie Agata Ambroise

Engineer: Rinaldo Passera, Lugano

Biologist: Luca Paltrinieri, Lugano

Geologist: Urs Luechinger, Pregassona

The redevelopment of the Cassarate river mouth was conceived as the natural completion of the hydraulic improvement of the river from Piano della Stampa to Lake Lugano, under cantonal jurisdiction.

For the City, the river mouth project, completed in 2014, became an important connecting element between the service and recreational infrastructures located on both banks: the beach, harbor, and sports facilities on the left, and the public park on the right. From a planning perspective, the redevelopment of the Cassarate river mouth is linked to the river park with a pedestrian-cycling path on the left bank of the Cassarate.

The project should be seen as a contemporary response aligned with federal water management regulations. The river, as designed, is once again accessible and usable as a valuable space. Furthermore, thanks to the configuration of the riverbed and the suitability of the right bank to withstand repeated flooding, new areas provide relief for exceptional floodwaters.

On the right bank, the removal of part of the retaining wall, which created a sharp division between the river and Ciani Park, combines concepts of protection against hydraulic risk with the renaturalization of the river's final section. The embankment that replaces the retaining wall has a very gentle slope to reduce the erosive force of the water and absorb the force that could not be expressed on the left bank due to its configuration. Its consolidation is achieved using natural engineering techniques, widely applied in river improvement projects, ensuring hydraulic safety and a high biological quality of the river ecosystem.

A wooden pedestrian walkway supported by micropiles wraps around the entire river mouth area, allowing visitors to move within the park, experience transformations at ground level in direct contact with the water, and observe the landscape from the southern-facing open space.

Interventions on the left bank were also designed to enhance the area, maintaining the asphalt access road with limited traffic and adding a pedestrian path along the river's retaining wall. The embankment is constructed with steps and large gneiss blocks to allow closer interaction with the river. Near the water, a pedestrian path winds its way, and the connection to Ciani Park is ensured by a larger-span pedestrian bridge replacing the previous one.