Fesh Water Facility
Lausanne

The location of the new building respects the topography of the site by positioning itself on the existing promontory, thus dominating the park and the lake shore. Two pathways run alongside the building and invite users of the shoreline park to wander under the major trees of the park. Stairs lead down to the lakefront and to a landscaped lookout.

The horizontality of the structure and its natural position on the existing elevated ground give the building a calm and sublime expression. The scale of the building and the singularity of its form make it one of the remarkable entities of the surroundings. Indeed, it is a public infrastructure building that supplies a large part of Lausanne with drinking water. The search for an emblematic building underlines this importance.

The parabolic walls are reminiscent of a dam wall or a ship and give an idea of the underground continuation of the building. The cantilever also emphasizes the horizontality of the building and protects the façade from the weather. The drinking water plant appears as an abstract geometric form. Only the offices and meeting rooms appear as a box inserted in the facade overlooking the lake. The workshops are integrated into the building and open onto a common work yard. They can be accessed via an access bridge. Thus, the workshops and the manoeuvring yard are protected from the public and security is guaranteed, while the entire park remains open to the public. The environment is protected from noise emissions from the work platform. The storage of materials on the platform and the daily work remains out of sight.

Competition
Client: Commune de St-Sulpice
Team: Claudius Fruehauf, Guillaume
Henry, Carlos Viladoms, Contanta Lupu