Renderings of the Lina Peak skyscraper shown on its website reveal a slender, rectangular glass tower. The building is designed to rise to 260 meters (just over 853 feet), placing it at roughly the same height as New York City’s Rockefeller Center, which stands 850 feet tall. The height of the tower could potentially change and be made taller or shorter if required, architect Heinz Julen, who designed the skyscraper, told New Atlas.
The Lina Peak website states that the tower is planned for plots no. 7223, 4716, 4708, and 7216 in the Biel area, around 800 meters (less than half a mile) before the entrance to Zermatt. The location has already been examined from a geological standpoint by Dr. Hans Rudolf Keusen, who concluded that the project’s basic feasibility has been confirmed but noted that more work remains.
“The Lina Peak project would be feasible from the point of view of natural hazards. Additional clarifications are needed to quantify the hazard and to dimension the necessary protective structures,” Keusen said, according to the website.
Julen has described Lina Peak as a kind of pressure release for Zermatt itself. “Lina Peak is a release valve for Zermatt–it creates space, relieves pressure, and gives the village back the peace it needs so that locals and guests will feel comfortable in the future,” he told New Atlas.
On the project’s website, the building is framed not merely as a striking tower, but as a “vertical village” that helps provide affordable housing for locals.
According to the website, the tower would include around 500 apartments ranging from 35 square meters (about 378 square feet) to 150 square meters (1,615 square feet), and offer a combined total of over 30,000 square meters of living space.
These apartments are intended to be available for sale or rent for locals and employees, and are described as “bright” units offering panoramic views of the Matterhorn and the wider Zermatt mountain landscape.
The project would be divided into two living areas. One area would occupy floors 2 through 32 and is described as providing “affordable first homes for locals and employees,” with a ban on price speculation and a commitment to fair pricing. That section would also include the possibility of renting supervised senior residences with preferential prices for Zermatt locals.
The second housing area would span floors 34 to 62 and would be sold on the free market in accordance with current Zermatt guidelines, with the intention of using those sales for cross-subsidisation of social housing. The website says this would result in “a model that combines social diversity and economic viability,” adding that “the upper floors make it possible for Zermatt to remain affordable living space downstairs–permanently and fairly.”
The proposal also seeks to address concerns about long-term affordability by setting limits on how the units can be priced in the future. The website states that 50 percent of apartments must remain as affordable housing and that price increases should be no more than two percent per year.
It argues that such measures are necessary in Zermatt, where, according to the project description, “market prices [are] often 50 percent higher than real value,” and “capped prices and fair financing ensure balance.”
Beyond housing, Lina Peak is also positioned as part of a broader system intended to relieve the village center from congestion. “The direct gondola connection to the Kumme cable car will make the project part of a new guest management system, so the village center remains relieved and Zermatt gains space to breathe,” the website says.
By Soo Kim
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