Meeting point in Sonvico
Where there was once a patch of grass squeezed between two roads, there is now a small public space carefully redeveloped with attention to nature and beauty.
The "meeting point" (punto incontro) is located along Strada della Castellanza in Sonvico, next to the bus stop.
The urban redevelopment project - overseen by architect Enrico Sassi and the engineering firm Mauri e Associati in collaboration with the City’s services - is part of a broader urban redevelopment and traffic calming initiative approved in 2012 by the municipality of Sonvico and later taken up by the City of Lugano after the merger.
Project objectives
The overall urban redevelopment and traffic calming project in the Sonvico district set five objectives, all of which have been achieved:
- Create an independent pedestrian pathway separated from the cantonal road
- Enhance the pedestrian axis that crosses the district
- Develop easily recognizable pathways through the use of consistent materials
- Redevelop the urban space and pedestrian paths, making them elements for calming vehicular traffic
- Improve the provision of urban services and facilities by introducing benches, bus stops, and parking spaces
Features
The meeting point covers a surface area of 70 m² and is located along Strada della Castellanza, at the main access road to the center of Sonvico. The interventions transformed a leftover space into a new public area and increased pedestrian safety. A sidewalk section completing the local pedestrian network was built, while the area defined by the traffic-calming speed bump now accommodates two stops for the Autolinee Regionali Luganesi (ARL).
The area has been enhanced with a circular flowerbed, a true biotope (created with ecological consultation by Giuliano Greco, Oikos 2000), featuring an oak tree and several flower species found in the dry meadows of Denti della Vecchia. At the base of the new staircase, which provides access to the meeting point from above, a dry-stone wall - filled with limestone rubble (Caprino stones) - was constructed to promote biodiversity: the gaps between the stones provide an ideal habitat for plants and some small animal species.
The space also stands out for its installation of the longest red bench in the city (6.5 meters), located near the bus stop. The bench is made of red-painted wooden slats supported by traditional cast-iron frames, similar to the historic benches along Lugano’s lakeside. The mold and cast-iron production of the bench were carried out by Fonderia Nottaris, the oldest family-run foundry in Switzerland, while the metal parts were crafted by Tenconi of Airolo, and, last but not least, the carpenter was Pietro Bignasca from Sonvico.
The English version of this page was created with the aid of automatic translation tools and may contain errors and omissions.
The original version is the page in Italian.