Ticino, housing challenges discussed at Lugano’s LAC

Context

At a Glance

• HOMEspace presented at LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura
• Roundtable discussion on Ticino over the next twenty years
• The debate brought together architecture, finance, and institutions
• Focus on quality, sustainability, and access to housing

Key Facts

• Event → Beyond Housing: Visions and Opportunities for an Increasingly Attractive Ticino
• Location → LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura
• Organizer → Grafica Set Group, with the support of the City of Lugano
• Publication → HOMEspace, an INFOpmi special edition
• Participants → Filippo Lombardi, Massimo Nicora, Marzio Grassi, Elena Guglielmin, David Dalsass, Riccardo Blumer, and Enrico Sassi

At LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura, Grafica Set Group presented HOMEspace, the new INFOpmi special issue dedicated to housing, architecture, and construction. The event, sponsored by the City of Lugano, focused on a specific question: Is Ticino ready to seize the opportunities and tackle the challenges of the next twenty years?

The starting point for the evening was the transformation of the relationship with the local area. Ticino—and, more broadly, Switzerland—have been described as magnets for individuals, families, and entrepreneurs seeking security and a better quality of life. Consequently, expectations regarding living spaces are also changing: luxury is no longer associated solely with ostentation and exclusivity, but with well-being, sustainability, services, healthy materials, technology, and harmony with the local environment.

Sacha Cattelan, CEO of Grafica Set Group SA, opened the proceedings by explaining the project’s editorial origins:

“It stems from a desire to offer a comprehensive exploration of the world of housing—a sector that plays a major economic role in Ticino and is closely linked to the region’s development and identity.”

He then linked the theme of the home to a broader question: not just how much to build, but how and what to build, and what kind of region to envision for the future.

The Dialogue on Cities, Regulations, and Finance

Journalist and TV host Gianfranco De Santis moderated the discussion, which also included Enrico Sassi. Filippo Lombardi, head of the Department of Territorial Development for the City of Lugano, emphasized the need to strike a balance between residents, capital, urban identity, sustainability, regulations, appeals, and the relationship between the city center and the suburbs—with the goal of preventing housing from becoming a privilege reserved for the few.

Massimo Nicora addressed building regulations, exploring the tension between land protection and potential barriers to development, citing regulatory uncertainties, lengthy procedures, and the need for simplification. Marzio Grassi, Regional Head of Corporate & Real Estate for Ticino at UBS, offered the perspective of international capital, asset security, and risk assessment for modern and traditional properties through the lens of sustainability criteria. Elena Guglielmin, Senior Credit Analyst at UBS, discussed residential lending standards, the gap between supply and demand for future-proof properties, and young people’s access to mortgage loans.

David Dalsass spoke about the demand for quality, the value of a project for the neighborhood, and the relationship between regulation and large-scale developments. The design segment was opened by architect and designer Riccardo Blumer.

Operational details

The practical issue that emerged in Lugano concerns the very definition of “living.” The discussion does not treat it as a simple sum of square meters: it brings together the quality of the property, urban identity, sustainability, financing, and the ability to carry out projects. For those who live or work in Switzerland, this perspective shifts the focus from merely having a home to the conditions that make a project consistent with the local context.

Quality and Access Are Not the Same Thing

The source uses the term “luxury” in a sense distinct from ostentation. Well-being, amenities, healthy materials, technology, and harmony with the local area become indicators of quality. The term “future-proof” appears in the comparison between supply and demand for quality real estate. Sustainability also plays a role in risk assessment for both modern and traditional properties. A project is thus evaluated based on the features it offers and the relationship it builds with the local area, not merely on its exclusivity.

The second key issue is access. Lombardi highlighted the relationship between the city center and the suburbs and the need to ensure that housing does not become a privilege for the few. Guglielmin added the issue of access to mortgage credit for younger people. For a family or a new resident, the assessment thus concerns both the quality of the housing supply and the standards required by the banking sector.

The third issue concerns timelines and regulations. Nicora described building bureaucracy as a balance between protection and a potential obstacle to development. Regulatory uncertainties and lengthy procedures can discourage investors; Lombardi also highlighted the burden of regulations and appeals in the planning process. Dalsass linked regulation to the ability to carry out large-scale projects.

The fourth factor is financial. Grassi pointed to financial security and projects with high added value as elements sought after by international capital. Dalsass refocused attention on the value a project generates for the entire neighborhood. For the banking sector, use conti bancari in Svizzera; to relate the topic to everyday expenses, use costo della vita in Svizzera.

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Key points

Anyone trying to navigate a housing project can transform the issues that have emerged into a series of checks. This is not an administrative procedure: it is a framework for analyzing and distinguishing between quality, the local area, regulations, and financing.

Five Steps to Evaluate a Project

1. Define the desired quality. Prioritize well-being, amenities, healthy materials, technology, sustainability, and harmony with the local area. These are the elements associated with the new concept of luxury and help describe what you’re looking for, without limiting yourself to exclusivity.

2. Examine the relationship with the neighborhood. Assess how the project fits into the city center or the suburbs and what value it can generate for the entire neighborhood. The question concerns not only the residential unit itself but also the local area that hosts it.

3. Identify the regulatory process. Inquire about which regulations, appeal timelines, uncertainties, and procedures affect planning. The source links bureaucracy both to protection and to potential obstacles to development; for large-scale projects, Dalsass emphasizes the capacity for implementation.

4. Weigh risk against sustainability. When evaluating a modern or traditional property, consider how financial risk is assessed and the weight given to sustainability criteria. The comparison between these two types was one of the topics addressed from a financial perspective.

5. Assess the credit side. Those seeking financing for a high-profile residential project must consider the quality standards set by the banking sector. For younger people, access to mortgage financing is a specific point of debate; differences in clientele have been highlighted between local residents and new international residents.

Following this sequence helps avoid mixing different considerations: a desired quality does not automatically equate to sustainability; a good design concept does not eliminate procedural requirements; and financial attractiveness alone does not resolve access to housing. According to the discussion at the LAC, it is precisely these connections that will define the Ticino of tomorrow.

To incorporate the housing assessment into your budget, use calcolatore stipendio/imposte

Source: tio.ch