Tourism is booming in Zermatt, a small commune in the Swiss Alps where the permanent population of around 6,000 people swells to 40,000 people in the winter months, making it almost impossible to find affordable accommodations. This puts a lot of pressure on both visitors and local entrepreneurs who struggle to find housing for their employees. Now, one local hotelier is trying to solve this problem by building a 260-meter-high skyscraper right by the iconic Matterhorn.

Heinz Julen, a 61-year-old hotelier and architect, unveiled his ambitious plans for a skyscraper just outside Zermatt last month, in front of a young crowd who seemed very open to the idea. The same could not be said about the locals, most of whom called the idea crazy and a threat to Zermatt’s appeal.

“Why not carve into the Matterhorn, build apartments inside, and install an elevator to the summit?” one local sarcastically asked. “If the building is tall enough to block the view of the mountain, tourists might stop coming, and housing prices could drop.”

Julen’s skyscraper, dubbed Lina Peak, is nothing if not ambitious. The 2nd to 32nd floors would be reserved for the local resident population, as well as for the hundreds of foreigners employed seasonally in Zermatt’s hotels, restaurants and electric taxi companies. The upper 30 floors will be reserved for luxury apartments targeting wealthy foreign investors.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and I’ve spent a lot of time on it if not a lot of money,” Julen told Swiss public broadcaster SRF. “The housing shortage is a serious issue. Many residents are forced to relocate due to a lack of affordable spaces.”

Property prices in Zermatt skyrocketed during the pandemic, and haven’t come down since, but Heinz Julen managed to secure plots of land by the Matterhorn and, should his idea attract the 500 million euros ($583 million), he hopes to make it a reality by 2034.

Combatting the housing shortage in a Swiss Alps resort by building a skyscraper right next to one of the most famous mountain peaks in the world is bold, and more than a little strange, but Julen is well-known for his nonconformism.

The 61-year-old Zermatt-born architect has already begun collecting signatures from locals, and experts consider the realisation of Lina Peak to be quite realistic.