The beginnings of the Ticino banking system date back to the second half of the 1800s, just as the modern network of roads (Melide Causeway, 1847) and railways (Gotthard Tunnel, 1882) was reinforcing the centrality of the Canton on Europe’s north/south axis. At the end of WWII, when Europe was reorganizing its political and economic order, laying the foundations for the expansion that would peak in the 1960s, Lugano became the centre of a development that gave rise to its affluence and superior quality of life. In the space of a few years, the Lugano stock exchange grew to become the third most important exchange in Switzerland after Zurich and Geneva. This international success necessitated a profound change in the organization’s structures, which included an ambitious plan for new headquarters and offices that could satisfy practical needs as well as the institution’s desire to strengthen its image. “Designing a bank is a particularly interesting task for an architect committed to seeking a balance between the exterior, which must fulfil demands of prestige and representation in the context of a historical centre, and the interior, which must satisfy the very specific needs of the workers and public who frequent the building. This includes entrance halls, employee only passages, offices, reception, private, soundproofed lounges, utility spaces and all the other spaces required for the day-to-day functioning of a bank, and which must furthermore embody the specialization, idea and image that each bank wants to communicate to its clientele. Every institution tends to create a reception area where the client is received in a multifunctional environment that guarantees personalized service and security, while also somehow evoking the identity and history of the region. “The architect must always be aware of the distinct typologies of financial institutions (investment banks, commercial banks, retail banks, Private Banking), each with its own needs, all the way up to the National Bank, which requires the tightest possible security. Technological innovation has greatly modified the original design concept of a bank. This means that in the future there must be an almost complete refurbishment of existing bank buildings in order to upgrade their architectonic/functional technological aspect” – not least because the way of “doing banking” will change drastically.
