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BUILDING PROJECTS
POLYVALENT HALL LE VAUD, SWITZERLAND
Climb every mountain
Challenged by steep topography, unspoilt alpine surroundings, and a devastating fire after its initial construction, the creation of a community sports and activity hall brought architect, client and locals together in the Swiss village of Le Vaud. Sébastien Reed speaks to architect Laurent Saurer
the other, the village of Le Vaud is shrouded in natural beauty. It was this setting that predicted the commune’s requirement for, above all, a sensitively packaged solution to its intensifying shortcomings in public amenity space. In 2013, the commune’s local government opened the project up to competitive tender, paving the way for Lausanne and Zurich-based practice LOCALARCHITECTURE’s first contact with the client.
S In addition to demands for additional
space, the commune also wanted the design to make use of as many locally available materials as possible. Beyond that, entries were relatively free to experiment, explains Saurer: “Because it was a competition, they gave us a very small brief. We were very free to create something new and feel free, so each of the six projects submitted were very different.” He continues: “The question of integration was key, though.” According to the architect, it was the studio’s sensitive design and placement of the project into site and surroundings that secured their selection to lead the design. What distinguishes Le Vaud’s new building from other villages is its unique story. Following initial completion in 2016
ituated just a stone’s throw away from Lake Léman on one side, hugging the French border, and the Swiss Jura on
and one month before the building’s opening, Le Vaud’s Polyvalent Hall was entirely destroyed by a calamitous fire. While the event was a huge blow, it served to bring the architects, client – in particular Chantal Landeiro, president of the commune – and the local inhabitants, closer together. As a result of this, the architects gained a more profound understanding of the client’s needs; essential to further fine-tuning certain aspects of the design for the rebuild.
A child-friendly form
The plot is situated adjacent to a path which also provides access to the neighbouring village church and cemetery to the west and a school sports field to the north. A concrete forecourt acts as a visual marker for the hall’s entrance, and buffer to the road. Further removed are smaller residential units, largely in concord with the rural architectural language in that part of the world. In plan, the building takes on a near rectangular shape measuring roughly 36 metres by 40 metres, however the eastern side of the building is marginally longer at both ends, forming a trapezium. The simple plan is balanced by the hall’s relatively complex form characterised by two pitched roofs of varying height and
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