We’ve had the exciting opportunity to tour the CSCS Lugano Alps Supercomputer, one of Europe’s leading supercomputing centres. With the tour, lasting 1.5 hours, they provide an incredible look into the cutting edge technology driving research and innovation at the forefront of science and technology. The Alps Supercomputer tour consisted of a 45 minute presentation and then a 45 minute walk around tour of the whole facility – which was pretty cool to see!
It was opened up for a maximum group of 40 persons, and it filled up pretty quickly once announced. So read on to hear more about our experience, about the tour in English and book a tour for yourself to enjoy too!
SuperComputer
History about the CSCS Lugano Supercomputer
The CSCS (Swiss Center for Scientific Computing) is a prestigious supercomputing facility located in Lugano, Switzerland.
Founded in 1991, the center has played a pivotal role in supporting computational research for scientific disciplines across the globe.
Its main mission is to provide high-performance computing resources to researchers and institutions working on complex problems, from simulating the behavior of molecules to modeling the effects of climate change.
Their facility was also designed with sustainability in mind, with the building’s architecture incorporating cutting-edge cooling systems to reduce energy consumption.
For example, we learnt that the cooling of the supercomputer is supported with the local river Cassarate, which leads into Lake Lugano. They are pulling in the water from upstream, which gets passed through the facility and heads back out into the river. The usual temperature for this is minimum 6 degrees and when it leaves it’s maximum 15c degrees, but they can withstand up to 29c degrees.
Collaborations
The center collaborates closely with universities, research institutes, and industry leaders to drive advancements in fields such as material science, biotechnology, environmental studies, and astronomy.
Some collaborations include:
- ETH Zurich
- Swiss Universities (Bern, Lucerne, Lugano etc)
- MeteoSwiss
- Swiss particle physics communit (CHIPP) to analyse CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Geneva
- Blue Brain Project
- NCCR
The Alps Supercomputer
The most recent addition to the center is the ALPS supercomputer, which has been installed at the facility since September 2024. This is now one of the most powerful systems in Europe.
The installation included 2,688 nodes with NVIDIA Grace-Hopper processors for a total of 10,752 sockets.
Some facts about the ALPS supercomputer and the building it’s in are:
- The building has a 2,000m machine room and 2,600m office space.
- The connection speed for internet is 400Gbit/s.
- There is up to 100 PB storage online and 240 PB on tape.
- Electricity from 11 megawatts available power, and up to 25 upgradable possible.
- There are up to 127 employees working here, with a mix of 23 different nationalities
- The annual operating budget is 37 million CHF and an investment budget of 20 million CHF.
The supercomputer serves as a crucial tool for scientific breakthroughs in fields such as climate simulation, molecular dynamics, and artificial intelligence, which the ALPS will now take over.
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The English Tour of Alps Supercomputer
You can sign up for a tour in English or Italian when they provide them. Check their events page for upcoming events and tours like this one. These tours are free to register!
We joined their first English tour in March 2025.
The English tour was divided into two 45 minute sessions:
Alps Supercomputer Presentation
The first 45 minutes were spent in a presentation where we learned about the history of the CSCS facility, its development, and its critical role in scientific computing. The presentation was insightful, sharing how supercomputing supports a wide range of fields from climate modeling to particle physics and Swiss AI research.
Our host, an expert in the field who had worked at the facility for many years, shared fascinating details about the evolution of supercomputing technologies and the future of computational power.
Throughout we were allowed to answer questions and they were very happy to answer and explain in more detail.
Alps Supercomputer Walkaround
Next was the 45-minute walk around the CSCS building, that included all the cooling machines and pipes, all the electronics and wiring and the heart of the facility – the ALPS supercomputer itself. Throughout this part of the tour, they also explained a lot of things along the way, such as the water cooling system from the river and how the generators would work based on potential power outages.
The sheer scale of the machines were inspiring, though we were expecting the supercomputer to be bigger than what it actually was.
We were shown the rows of their powerful processors, each designed to handle massive datasets at unimaginable speeds. It was remarkable to see how these machines operate and the level of precision and efficiency they maintain, as well as how organized the CSCS Lugano were!
Visiting Tips
You can find CSCS Lugano located at: Via Trevano 131, 6900 Lugano
Arriving by public transport within Lugano is very easy, with a few different bus stops all nearby. If you arrive by car, you can best part at Cornaredo Stadium opposite.
Summary Alps Supercomputer
Whether you’re a tech enthusiast, a researcher, or someone curious about the future of computational science, a visit to the CSCS Lugano Supercomputer is an eye-opening experience. It was a rare chance to witness first-hand the technology powering the next frontier of discovery and innovation.
If you ever have the opportunity to take part in such a tour, I highly recommend it! It’s an unforgettable glimpse into the technology that is shaping our world, and it’s really nice to be able to ask questions to the person from the tour, since she knew so much and had worked there for years.
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