Toward an Integral Practice of Architecture 9783038210160, 9783038215813

Table of contents :
Acknowledgments
Contents
Un alto en el camino
Preamble
A perfect title
Enquiring with intensity
A client’s reflections
The invitation
Toward an Integral Practice of Architecture
FUNDAMENTALS. Project Profile |En Bergère in Vevey, 1996–2008
AESTHETICS
Beauty
CONSTRUCTION
From Tectonics to Skins
TYPOLOGY
Enduring Relationships
ENQUIRIES
TIME
Temporality
CROSSROADS
Encounters
THE PROJECT
Invention and Selection
Reading Liernur
Retomando el camino
Editorial Afterword

Citation preview

Toward an Integral Practice of Architecture

Richter Dahl Rocha & Associés

Toward an Integral Practice of Architecture

BIRKHÄUSER . BASEL

Editorial Team Ignacio Dahl Rocha, Christian Leibbrandt, Kenneth Ross Graphic Design Marco Turin and Eléonore Junod, RDR Design SA Editorial Consultant Denise Bratton, Los Angeles Project Coordination Florence Auras, Cohérence communication, Lausanne Editor for the Publisher Andreas Müller, Berlin Translation Paul Hammond, Spanish texts by Ignacio Dahl Rocha, Jorge Francisco Liernur Charles Penwarden, French texts by Catherine Bolle, Christian Leibbrandt, Pierre Milliet Gina Cariño, Spanish text by Francisco Mangado Proofreading Christina Gomes, Lausanne Elizabeth Kugler, Boston

Illustration Credits Drawings Richter Dahl Rocha & Associés architectes SA: Federico Almarcegui, Marc López,

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cristina Platero, Nicolas Adrien, Mario Sousa

A CIP catalog record for this book has been

RDR Arquitectos, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Esteban Sciarrotta, Julieta Vilaplana

applied for at the Library of Congress.

Models

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9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 www.birkhauser.com

Acknowledgments This book is the result of an extraordinary process of teamwork and collaboration, and we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to all those who have contributed to making it possible. First of all, we thank our partners, Christian Leibbrandt and Kenneth Ross, principal co-authors of the book, for their fundamental contribution to its conception and realisation. We thank Denise Bratton for the professionalism and creativity of her work as editor, which with an extraordinary personal commitment has ensured the success of this ambitious project. A very special thanks goes to Marco Turin, who with the collaboration of Eléonore Junod has brought, as always, his recognised talent to the conception and graphic design of the book under the aegis of RDR Design SA. Our thanks go to Florence Auras, responsible for communications in our office, who together with Marco and Eléonore realised the titanic task of producing this book. We are grateful to Andreas Müller, who in his role as editor for the publisher actively integrated himself into our team and guided us in our work, generously sharing his experience and offering his insightful comments along the way. A note of special thanks to Werner Handschin of Birkhäuser’s production department, who put his extensive knowledge of the potentials and pitfalls of book production processes fully in the service of this project, and generously assisted us through the final phases of production. We would like to recognise the enormous work of research and graphic representation which has been done especially for the book by the office of RDR Arquitectos in Buenos Aires, in particular, Esteban Sciarrotta and Julieta Vilaplana, and to the parallel team in Lausanne, including Federico Almarcegui, Marc López, Cristina Platero, Nicolas Adrien, and Mario Sousa. A special note of thanks to Manuela Toscan for her preliminary research on the typology of office space. Our sincere thanks also go to everyone in our office who assisted us in countless ways throughout the process of making this book. We thank Elizabeth Kugler for her excellent proofreading of the layout for Birkhäuser. In the end, we were very fortunate to also be joined by Christina Gomes in Lausanne, who arrived with fresh eyes to read the final layout with exceptional attention and care. This book draws on the experience of two decades of architecture and design work undertaken by Richter Dahl Rocha since its founding in 1993, and we would also like to take this occasion to express our most sincere gratitude to all who have collaborated with us during these many years, through the creation and growth of the three sister societies that together make up the RDR group. We are also grateful to the companies and professional collaborators who have joined forces with us, and especially our clients, who have demonstrated their confidence by granting us the opportunity to serve them and to realise the works we present in this publication. Finally, we extend deepest thanks to our families and those of all our collaborators, along with the friends who have in one way or another accompanied us on this adventure. Jacques Richter and Ignacio Dahl Rocha November 2013

Contents

FUNDAMENTALS

AESTHETICS

Un alto en el camino Prologue

09

Preambles

A perfect title

12

Jorge Francisco Liernur Enquiring with intensity

14

Francisco Mangado A client's reflections

16

Pierre Milliet The invitation Catherine Bolle

18

CONSTRUCTION

TIME

TYPOLOGY

Toward an Integral Practice of Architecture

21

Beauty

57

From Tectonics to Skins

137

Enduring Relationships

185

Project Profile | En Bergère

33

Portfolio

65

Facade Studies

145

Type Studies

193

Nestlé Headquarters Vevey:

34

IMD Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center

66

Jean Tschumi Nestlé building, Burckhardt & Brugger Extension,

IMD Nestlé Building

72

RDR Renovation / Transformation RDR Liaison Space

40

RDR Nestlé WellNes Centre

44

Temporality

Avenue de Béthusy

146

HOUSING

UBS Rhône

148

Comparative diagrams

194

UBS Rhône

L'Îlot-du-Centre

152

La Verrière

200

Arenales

IMD Executive Learning Center

74

EPFL Quartier de l'Innovation

154

L'Îlot-du-Centre

204

Avenue Dapples 54

IMD New Meeting Place

76

La Verrière A

Quartier des Uttins D, E

208

Rue du Jura 9-11

Clinique La Prairie

158

78

Clinique La Source

EPFL Quartier Nord, Student Housing

160

80

Flon Les Mercier

82

Vennes 3

162

EPFL Quartier de l'Innovation

86

Route de Berne 46

164

Les Fiches Nord

212

Avenue de Béthusy

214

SWHome® Housing System

216

Bobst Headquarters

90

IMD Nestlé Building

168

APARTMENTS

CFF Train Maintenance Center

98

Flon Les Mercier

170

Comparative plans

Quartier des Uttins

100

Clinique La Source

174

La Verrière

102

SICPA Chavornay

178

CFF Train Maintenance Center

180

L'Îlot-du-Centre

108

Route de Berne 46

112

Vennes 3

114

Credit Suisse Lion d’Or

116

Forest Refuge

118

Im Forster “Le Garage”

120

Chemin du Liseron

122

Villa Bosquets

124

Casa José Ignacio

126

Casa La Hilaria

132

218

PRIVATE RESIDENCES Casa José Ignacio

224

Casa La Hilaria

225

Villa de l'Est Lausannois

226

Villa Bosquets

227

Im Foster “Le Garage”

228

Forest Refuge

229

OFFICE SPACE Axonometric diagrams

230

Route de Berne 46

236

IMD Nestlé Building

238

Banco Ciudad Headquarters

240

La Nación

244

OTHER PROGRAMS Axonometric diagrams

246

IMD Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center

248

Bobst Headquarters

252

IMD New Meeting Place

256

Aquatis

258

ENSEMBLES Comparative diagrams

260

EPFL Quartier de l'Innovation

262

Quartier des Cèdres

266

Grand-Pré Sud

270

Champs-Meunier Nord

272

WCC Campus

274

ENQUIRIES

TIME

185

194

System

CROSSROADS

THE PROJECT

Temporality

277

Encounters

289

Invention and Selection

321

Reading Liernur

385

Retomando el camino Epilogue

391

Renovation | Transformation

280

Art | Architecture

297

Competitions | Unbuilt Projects

329

An appreciation

386

Catalogue of Works & Projects

393

Credit Suisse Lion d’Or

280

Le Chromoscope

298

Tour de l'Esplanade

330

Premises

Collective Housing

394

UBS Rhône

282

Le Semainier

302

Hardturm Stadium

334

Spectacle versus Architecture

Private Residences

398

200

Arenales

283

Le Lapidaire

304

Torre del Bicentenario

340

Archaisms

Administrative Buildings

398

204

Avenue Dapples 54

284

Erlenmatt

306

Torre Bajo Belgrano

344

The Role of Technics

Education / Research

402

Pretérito imperfecto, Futuro anterior

308

MCBA Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts

346

208

Rue du Jura 9-11

285

212

EPFL Les Bois Chamblard

286

214

Universidad Torcuato Di Tella

287

216

218

Architecture | Design

Clestra pleinAir® ®

311

404 406

Sports

406

Industrial Buildings

408

SwissTech Convention Center

352

Urbanism

408

314

376

Infrastructure

410

226

EPFL Quartier de l'Innovation, Nanosphère

317

227

Archigraphics

318

229

Project Profile | EPFL Quartier Nord 351

Wellness Commercial Buildings

Student Housing

316

228

404 404

312

EPFL Quartier de l'Innovation, Logitech

225

Cultural Buildings Hospitality

On tacere

Clestra Boà 224

Past, Present, and Future The Principle of Hope

RDR Design SA

410

Archigraphics

412

Groupe RDR

414

RDR & Associés Architectes RDR Design RDR Arquitectos

230 236

Editorial Afterword

238

Andreas Müller

240 244

246 248 252 256 258

260 262 266 270 272 274

416

Prologue

Un alto en el camino Ignacio Dahl Rocha

9

10

Un alto en el camino

As architects, we know that the publication of a book is always a good occasion for “un alto en el camino,” as one says in Spanish, a stop along the way to reflect upon our work. In this instance there is also the fact that 2013 marks the twentieth anniversary of the founding of our studio in Lausanne, which gives it special significance. The aim of this book is a many-sided and ambitious one. In addition to the wish to share our experience, we wanted to make sure that the process involved in the book's preparation allowed us to consider what we ourselves have learned from the experience along the way, and what these reflections might modestly contribute to the debate about contemporary architecture. And, just as importantly, we hoped it might in various ways guide us on the road that still lies ahead. In this retrospective glance, which takes in two decades of professional practice, the temporal dimension of the studio becomes more apparent as a long-term collective project that actively integrates successive generations of young architects. It is for them that this book, a collective project in itself, is destined. The concept for the book does not correspond to that of the traditional monograph. The presentation of the works and the texts that accompany them are organised in relation to a set of themes that interest us, and which we would like to emphasise here. These themes synthesise the recurrent preoccupations that have motivated our practice and our reflections on it over the years. The book is divided into two parts which are preceded by an introductory chapter that attempts to situate our work in its professional and disciplinary context. This chapter also presents a project profile summarising our various interventions at En Bergère in Vevey, the site of Nestlé's international headquarters, an important series of projects in the history of the office which exemplify the notion of an integral practice of architecture. The first part of the book, dedicated to “Fundamentals,” presents most of our

buildings over the course of three chapters organised according to the elemental themes of aesthetics, construction, and typology. At a moment in time when contemporary architectural culture gives the impression of being in headlong flight, we have sought to invoke these three basic elements of our discipline seen through the lens of our own work. In the chapter devoted to beauty, the reader is invited to be led by visual perception of the work through a selection of images that foreground the character and materiality of the buildings. The chapter devoted to construction focuses on facade studies, the aim being to highlight the relationship between building systems and architectural language. Lastly, the chapter devoted to typology presents our work in plans and sections intended to reveal enduring relationships among our projects with respect to type, and thus to give an overarching view of the oeuvre. The second part of the book, dedicated to “Enquiries,” foregrounds our explorations of various pathways within the discipline as well as beyond it. It includes significant renovations and transformations of historical buildings. We have also brought together a selection of experiments in the still new territory between the discipline of architecture and the fields of art and design. Finally, we include a number of competitions and unrealised projects. This part of the book concludes with a project profile devoted to the new Quartier Nord on the campus of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the SwissTech Convention Center, still under construction but slated for completion in spring 2014, and the newly completed student housing complex on the same site. Challenges inherent in the task of placemaking on an expanding campus, the exploration of new technological solutions for the convention center, and the evolution of ideas about student housing for the Quartier Nord rounds off the presentation of our work in prospective terms.

11

About the title of this book, for us the word “toward” implies something of the dynamic and unfinished nature of the experience that drives us ever onward and intimates the lessons we have learned as well as those we have yet to learn. It also refers to the road on which this book invites us to make a stop in order to evaluate what has been achieved up to now, and on that basis, to continue on our way. The term “integral” explicitly evokes the many different aspects of the architectural experience, human, disciplinary, professional, and academic, which appear in different ways and to varying degrees throughout this book. The persistence of the notion of “practice,” literally embedded as it is in this book, reminds us of the essence and the nature of our profession, and has the virtue of dissuading us from any temptation to turn our reflections about the practice into a “theory” of architecture. Above all, the idea of architecture as an integral experience articulates a vision with which we identify, and a personal commitment that we constantly renew in our day-to-day work, an inclusive attitude of non-refusal, which attempts to grasp as much of ungraspable reality as possible, remaining alert to the constant search for balance and beauty to give coherence and meaning to the complex matrix of facts and values that belong to architecture. In fact, Jorge Francisco Liernur takes up the theme of the title in depth in his preamble to this book. Liernur, who has followed our work from the beginning, and whose critical view of it comes closest to grasping what we have been trying to do in our practice, has written several essays on the subject which for us have been very relevant. In recognition of this, and in response, we conclude this volume with a reading of an essay he wrote for a monagraph on our studio published in 2007. Along with Liernur, Francisco Mangado, Pierre Milliet, and Catherine Bolle have contributed to the collective preamble that follows. All of them have been imbricated in our work in different ways, bringing to it their very different perspectives, and their texts constitute a lucid and indispensable preamble in the spirit of this book.

12

A perfect title

On two previous occasions, I’ve written about the reasons I admire the oeuvre of Richter Dahl Rocha. The works presented in this book merely confirm those arguments, and even increase my appreciation of them, if that is possible. On the other hand, it seems particularly worthwhile at this juncture to ponder the title of the present publication, as I believe it sums up what took me many pages to explain in the past. In my mind, Toward an Integral Practice of Architecture is not, as will become obvious in the unfolding of the book, merely a paraphrasing of Vers une architecture (Toward an Architecture); rather, it intends to re-appropriate the meaning Le Corbusier himself had in mind. As Jean-Louis Cohen has so astutely pointed out, “the cover chosen for the 1923 edition of Vers une architecture, with its view down the promenade of the Aquitania, intimates motion ‘toward’ the bow of the ship. The window opened in the rectangle of the cover designates a horizon at which the hopes expressed in the book would converge.”1 The graphic metaphor highlights an important aspect of Le Corbusier’s intent, namely, to situate his transatlantic-modern book proposition as a vehicle moving in the direction of its objective. The adoption of this idea entailed a significant displacement with regard to the first title he thought of giving the book, “Architecture or Revolution,” not only because it was a way of attenuating its political reading, but because, in addition, the use of the preposition “toward” accentuated the preliminary nature of the contents. To be sure, this idea of transition was not the exclusive purview of Le Corbusier, being present in other manifestos of the time such as Theo van Doesburg, Cor van Eesteren, and Gerrit Rietveld's Vers une construction collective (Toward a Collective Construction) of 1923, and van Doesburg's manifesto “Tot een beeldende Architectuur (Toward a Plastic Architecture)” of the following year. The originality of Le Corbusier's title lies precisely in

1 Jean-Louis Cohen, “Introduction” to Le Corbusier, Toward an Architecture, trans. John Goodman (Los Angeles: The Getty Research Institute, 2007; London: Frances Lincoln Ltd., 2008), a translation of the 1928 printing of Vers une architecture (1923), 2nd ed. (Paris: G. Crès, 1924), 26.

Preamble by Francisco Liernur

the omission of the adjective. I believe he intended to say that architecture should be reconsidered in its totality, and what he proposed in his work was intended to reconstitute that totality. This is why it is important to note that with later translations of the book, such as those of the 1927 English edition, or the Japanese edition of 1929, which presented it as Toward a New Architecture and Toward an Artistic Architecture respectively, a certain violence was done to his idea. An endless series of paraphrases built upon nouns, verbs, adjectives, or additional prepositions followed that synthetic 1923 idea, capitalising on its suggestiveness. From Painting Toward Architecture by Henry-Russell Hitchcock (1948), to Verso una Geo-Architettura of Petra Bernitsa (2010), by way of Towards a Social Architecture by Andrew Saint (1987), the manifesto “Towards an Architecture of Humility” by Juhani Pallasmaa (1998), Toward Absolute Architecture by David Gilson De Long (1988) (which refers to the work of Bruce Goff), Towards an Architecture of Suspension by Farzam Yazdanseta (2012), or Toward a Ludic Architecture by Steffen P. Waltz (2010), publications that invoke Le Corbusier's initial proposition have continued to appear, and the book you have before you has the privilege of being the latest in this line, while we await what is to follow. Except for the fact that this time, between preposition and noun the authors have not inserted a modifier, but on the contrary, have added two words that call for architecture's rehabilitation as a totality. This is what they are referring to when they use the terms “integral practice.” With this, Richter Dahl Rocha assert the position that architecture as “an integral practice” currently doesn't exist, or at least it would appear to be in the process of ceasing to exist. This critical position harks back to a line of thought which in Spanish was adumbrated early on with the publication of Oriol Bohigas' influential Contra una arquitectura adjetivada (Against an Adjectivised

13

Architecture) of 1969. It is precisely this recuperation of Architecture tout court in its manifold dimensions, social, ecological, constructional, morphological, ludic, and economic, that Richter Dahl Rocha proposes to carry out in the name of “integral practice,” as we witness a seemingly irreversible dispersion of the discipline's central meaning. Perhaps a more succinct title might have been simply “Toward an Architecture.” For those of us who are enamoured of the ineffable fact of the discipline's presence in the infinite plane of the human, it is nothing short of encouraging that, with explicit semantic volition, Richter Dahl Rocha would take this moment to remind us that trying to recuperate that condition of presence is still a project toward which our daily work can be directed. And indeed, the oeuvre and the ideas presented herewith confirm that the effort is worth it.

Jorge Francisco Liernur received his architecture degree from the Universidad de Buenos Aires. He did postgraduate studies with Manfredo Tafuri at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, and with Tilmann Buddensieg at the Kunsthistorisches Institut, Philosophische Fakultät, Universität Bonn. He was awarded scholarships and grants from the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, the Getty Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, and the Rockefeller Foundation, among others. He teaches at the Centro de Estudios de Arquitectura Contemporánea, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, and is a researcher of the Argentine National Council for Research on Science and Technology, and a guest curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He has been a visiting scholar and lecturer at universities in the United States and Europe: Harvard University, Princeton University, Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Columbia University; Universidad de Navarra, Universitat de Barcelona; La Sapienza Università di Roma, Politecnico di Milano; Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zürich; Technische Universität (TU), Berlin; Universität Trier; Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas; and Universidad Católica, Santiago. His publications include Architecture in XXth Century Argentina; The Southern Network: On the Works of Le Corbusier and his Disciples in Argentina; Writings on XXth Century Architecture in Latin America; Architecture in Latin America: 1965–1985 and The Shadow of the Avant-Garde: Hannes Meyer in Mexico. He has also published essays in Assemblage, ANY, Zodiac, Casabella, AA Files, Arquitectura Viva, Der Architekt, At the End of the Century, World Architecture.

14

Enquiring with intensity

I would like to begin by saying that, in general, I am interested in things that are done in a manner that is consistent with their nature. Can this be said about a publication on the work of an architecture studio? Are there parallels between how a book is presented and what it contains? Not always, of course, but we certainly have before us a case in which there is such a correspondence. Building on this notion, I would like to take this occasion to reflect on the essential attributes of this publication, with the conviction that to a great extent there is a reciprocity between the book and the character of the architectural work it presents. The title of Ignacio Dahl Rocha's prologue, “Un alto en el camino,” perfectly captures the nature of a publication which, unlike the typical monograph (so often light on content and superficial in treatment), is deliberately taken by the authors as a pretext for examining what they have been doing these last twenty years: a retrospective glance that simultaneously clarifies the road still to be travelled. What we have here is essentially a reflective book that is a reminder for architects – at least those with aspirations to leadership in the professional or academic realm – of the benefits of taking a publication on their work as an opportunity to engage in self-criticism, which is nothing if not constructive. It demonstrates both intelligence and courage: intelligence, in the sense of turning the task of making a book into a thoughtful pause for analysis and judgment, something particularly necessary in a world ruled by haste and a plethora of superficial information, where work is performed without reflection, and the resort to style rather than thought and ideals is all too common; and courage, in the sense that in order to improve, it is necessary to risk acknowledging one’s weaknesses and errors. Apart from this goal of reflection, the book demonstrates great generosity in its contents. The built works, competition projects, and various other pursuits of the studio are elaborated with an abundance of information

Preamble by Francisco Mangado

that seeks to enquire into actual content and problems rather than mere appearances. Streamlined and extensive, the graphic information and texts compiled here speak to us of a real world where architecture shows itself as it is, as much throughout the design and realisation process as in the final result. One could say that through reflection and self-criticism, the architects have decided to lay all the cards on the table in a didactic exercise. Inescapably, such a didactic exercise demands more than simply presenting information “as is.” On the contrary, the content has to be broken down and analysed if it is to reveal all the keys to the work, right down to the most hidden ones. But this publication represents much more than a presentation of the work, to the point that one can say it is in itself a study in how to present information on architectural work, and as such, it is surely a book with educational intentions. Are these educational intentions the logical extension of a vocation consistently demonstrated by the Richter Dahl Rocha, as much in their academic pursuits as in the métier of their studio in Lausanne? Yes, they surely are, as this studio is not only a place where architecture is practiced, but also the site of meaningful encounters for students and young architects coming from a diversity of cultures and schools. The intensity of this latest publication lies not only in the abundance of material presented, nor in its strategies of analysis and assessment. In addition to this, it brings together a number of texts of a conceptual nature, which without a doubt gives it great value. In these texts, the architects situate themselves with respect to what they consider to be important in their practice. But they also express their doubts and concerns, and take a clear stand on architecture in our times, on design strategies and the idea of architecture as a service, on the problem of identity, on beauty in architecture, on aesthetic or reflective considerations with respect to time, on architecture's relation to art, and also on more urgent issues like sustainability, to name just a few of the subjects tackled in the book. All of

15

these texts are brought together to define a theoretical corpus that reveals the rigor and reasoning behind the work of Richter Dahl Rocha. In sum, we can say that this book goes beyond the scope of the monograph to become a publication about architecture in the broadest sense, one in which a certain atemporality and profundity of approach reveal the personal objectives of the architects in the sense of their determination to use self-criticism as an essential tool for rethinking and improving architecture. But I would like to come back to the point of the correspondence between the way projects are presented and the nature of those projects, in order to express my conviction that the value and virtue of the book are inherent as well in the body of work it presents. The works and projects featured here represent an architecture that, in all its diversity, cannot be stereotyped; there is no code that stands in for deeper reflection or is stubbornly reiterated, regardless of the specific nature of a project or its situation. On the contrary, the architectural works of Richter Dahl Rocha are the result of an analytic exercise which, based on an unwavering substratum of shared concerns, tenaciously devotes particular attention to each and every factor that might influence a project.

architecture of Richter Dahl Rocha, like their book, does not cheat. It is presented with naturalness, sans artifice. That said, it is quite possessed by a principle that the authors have emphasised here, that is, the will to serve, not only by solving problems, but by giving more than what society and the milieu demand. What they do is neither obvious nor servile. They operate within the marketplace, but not to gain its approval, rather to do what they believe needs to be done. Each project they undertake is treated as “special” because of the locale, the site, the users, the client, or simply the specific concerns surrounding the project. Not only the partners, but all of the collaborators share that principle of not settling for the obvious or the facile. I sincerely hope that the vision of this oeuvre, as it has been set forth in this exceptionally well-produced and intelligent book, will be, for those interested in learning, a call to attention with respect to the seriousness and rigor that the practice of our profession demands.

Along with this interest in the particular, their work demonstrates a delicate balance between the rational and the intuitive, with descriptive and synthetic thinking being brought together in the project. One could speak of the existence of a confident and refined intuition, which, with great subtlety, and over these many years, has functioned as the engine of the architects’ work. It is attentive to the act of building and to material resolution, preoccupied with programmatic content, responding to certain fundamentals in its formal manifestation, and clearly concerned about context and specificity, all of which results in a design process that has the capacity to pose questions and doubts which offer a more vulnerable, more contemplative, and therefore richer and more intelligent architecture. The

Francisco Mangado was born in Navarra, Spain, in 1957, and earned his degree in architecture from the Universidad de Navarra in 1982. He has taught at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, the Yale University School of Architecture, and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). He is a member of the architecture faculty in the master's program (MDA) as well as professor extraordinario in the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra. Francisco Mangado practices architecture in Pamploma. Among other distinctions, he has been awarded the Thienne Architecture Award, the Premio Architécti, the Premio Foment de les Arts i del Diseny (FAD), the Premio Construmat, the Medalla de Oro Giancarlo Ius conferred by the Unión Internacional de Arquitectos, the Premio Garcia Mercadal, the Copper Medal and the Premio de Arquitectura Española in 2009 from the Consejo Superior de Colegios de Arquitectos de España (SCAE). He was named an international fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 2011, and an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 2013. In June 2008, he founded the Fundación Arquitectura y Sociedad.

16

A client's reflections

Throughout history, it has been the client who brings to the table a building project corresponding to a need that must be satisfied through its realisation. The function of the project is central. This constraint of functionality clearly distinguishes the “client” who commissions a building from the “patron” who commissions a work from an artist for purely aesthetic reasons. All building projects demand solutions that take into account the program, that is, the function of the building, the financial constraints, and the aesthetic aspect. The notion of durability is equally important, not only in terms of construction, but also with respect to the lifespan and management of the building. Too many architectural projects are the result of a compromise among these criteria which satisfies none of them to the fullest extent, and thus, sadly, leads to a banal result. The fixed demands of the program, building regulations, and budgetary constraints are difficult to reconcile. It is essentially an exercise in comprehension, synthesis, and creativity. On the part of an architect, it requires a variety of competencies that must coalesce in a team composed of diverse yet complementary sensibilities. Fundamentally, a project must be the expression of functionality and technical solutions. In reality, certain recent buildings remind us that not all architectural projects adhere to this principle, some being too obsessed with making a fashion statement, or excessively interested in novelty with no other goal than making a mark or showcasing one or another of the personalities involved in the process, or both. We live in a world where appearances reign supreme and to stand out is the new conformism. For a client who wants to surprise, attract attention, or gain recognition, it is all too easy and tempting to commission an architect who will flatter the ego. The expression of the project is thus burdened by a doomed formalism

Preamble by Pierre Milliet

which, given its lack of authenticity, goes out of fashion or ages prematurely. Form takes precedence over content, especially when there is a dearth of the latter. This sort of formalism is simply the materialisation of the will to make an architectural “gesture” – to surprise, astonish, provoke debate, or simply induce a visual sensation. Every building must, to the extent that is possible, aim for a form of timelessness, far beyond whatever aesthetic criteria happens to be in fashion. To renew the sense of respect for concepts like equilibrium, the juste milieu, and harmony between form and material in the architectural project is vital. Curbing the tendency to extravagance must again become a priority. If the function is clearly expressed (which by no means rules out the innovative gesture), then the solution that follows will be clear and the building will stand the test of time. To accept this is a form of wisdom and humility. I would like to make some personal remarks about relations between Richter Dahl Rocha and their clients. First of all, they always find the balance between rigorous research and innovative solutions, avoiding the pitfalls of the fashion system. Novelties that have genuine utility and meaning are placed in the service of the unfailing equilibrium that characterises their projects. In the body of work these architects have realised, it is abundantly clear that there is no room for compromise or superfluity. I say this from experience, having collaborated with the office over many years. It is with great admiration that I have observed how these architects take into account the parameters established by the client, and likewise, the importance they attach to explaining their proposals in order to engage the client in the decision-making process. Ideas generated by the client as well as by the team of architects are integrated into the process in order to enrich the project, and provisions are made to allow the time that this takes. There are no rigid presuppositions as to the architectural approach or the related technical solutions. The range of skills brought into

17

play to resolve the problems encountered by the client during the course of the working process is striking. Every project remains a unique prototype: no choice or option is taken for granted. Throughout my long and fruitful collaboration with the office, the creative force of Richter Dahl Rocha has materialised in unique buildings, noteworthy for their clear and elegant architectural solutions, which have themselves become benchmarks of restraint and harmonious integration into their context. The desire to integrate the new, not only with respect to architectural ideas but also in terms of constructive techniques and materials, is always present, adding to the project. There is no question of novelty for its own sake, or because it is fashionable. This certainly does not prevent intense creativity, but here, creative innovation is always coherent with the other aspects of the project. Particular care is taken with construction details, an attitude indispensable to ensuring a building's longevity.

advantage to the detriment of others: the work is realised with the highest professional integrity and ethical standards. Thus, the office of Richter Dahl Rocha manages the tour de force of demonstrating exemplary finesse in the practice of architecture itself, while remaining attentive to human relations and respecting everyone involved in the process. Over these many years that we have worked together, it has always been a great pleasure for me to collaborate with them on our common projects. The future I have in mind for this office envisions their intrinsic values and ethics continuing to be upheld and transmitted to future generations as they develop new projects that are innovative, beautiful, and balanced, exuding a certain serenity. The success of the architects, duly recognised by their clients, is a direct result of a boundless commitment to these standards and a willingness to place themselves in the service of the common good over these last twenty years.

The strong sense of teamwork on which this office was founded prevents the emergence of egocentricity that can be encountered elsewhere. Consequently, each building or project is the work of Richter Dahl Rocha, and not any one individual. I am particularly impressed by the respect for human relations in general, which is literally primordial in the office; this is something that a client can sense. It is a great strength to be able to take everything seriously without taking oneself seriously. These architects are capable of patience, never imposing their own point of view, and always ready to call their projects into question, until such time as all participants and contributors, including planning authorities and the public, subscribe to their architectural solution. No matter what the scale of the project or prestige of the client, the architects also refuse to indulge in power, tempting as it is in this profession. No partner or collaborator derives any

Pierre Milliet is president of the Solvalor Fund Management SA. He studied architecture for two years at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), and afterward he continued his studies at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC), where he earned his degree in economics. After working in a large banking firm in Lausanne, his professional path quickly led to real estate. Hired in 1984 by de Rham Holding SA (now Vavite Holding SA), he works primarily on development, finance, information technology, and management and development of the Fonds due Placement Immobilier Solvalor 61. Passionate about architecture, he is involved both privately and professionally with many real estate development projects.

18

The invitation

Encounter at the inauguration of their newly renovated offices at Avenue Dapples 54... The light and ethereal “bridge,” a piece of glass engraved by Baldwin Guggisberg, a metaphor, the key to the articulation of their office suspended between the building constructed in 1930 and an attached industrial shed. The dynamic transformation of this space plunges visitors into a universe where the dream of architecture is still very much present. Among photographs of the built works of Richter Dahl Rocha, there are many works of art, the atmosphere redolent with the life of this office steeped in artistic expression, where aesthetic thinking is totally integrated from project to realisation. These entwinements, these projects forge an architecture that is human, contemporary, and luminous. One can detect three generations of constructive attitudes and propositions in the architectural work of these last twenty years. Perhaps it is a matter of the input of new collaborators? Perhaps it is the capacity to conceive projects that adapt immediately to the parameters of sustainable development and to elaborate their form? To transform a facade wall into a glazed skin, to integrate the coloured solar cells developed in the laboratories of Michael Grätzel and his collaborators at the EPFL: to be invited to work in this context is truly singular and captivating. A continuity between balance and functionality is de rigueur here, where by their choice of materials, details, and volumes the architects bestow a sense of calm on their structures. The confidence they exude is palpable. In this atmosphere, I sense a concern for, and awareness of others which has been instilled by the two founders – somewhere between the aura of an extended family, the love of icons, the love of art.

Preamble by Catherine Bolle

And now the explorations of the last six years have culminated in a new quarter on a university campus, by way of other projects for housing complexes and transformations of commercial spaces. To me this seems to be all of a piece with the spirit that infuses the three sites of their offices: Avenue Dapples, rue du Jura, both in Lausanne, and calle Montevideo in Buenos Aires. It is largely due to an immense effort of digital imagination that these three entities are connected, functioning at times as an unit, and at other times in tandem. I have the sense that I want to remain close to each one of these archipelagos of creativity. The inclination and the intention dedicated to the encounter, the social aesthetic: voilà, this is what enriches me in our practice, which began with the installation of Le Lapidaire at La Verrière in Montreux in 2004, continued through several competitions, and now these multiple interventions in the Quartier Nord of the EPFL campus, or this one intervention, depending on the scale at which one sees the new convention center and student housing. To have the honour of conceiving artistic interventions for the foyer of the SwissTech Convention Center and the adjacent student housing complex, where views are proliferated by the interplay between facade/landscape, facade/glass, facade/pigment, roof/shell, spinal column/stained glass, and glazing/energy. As a visual artist, to create work for this architecture, at the same time as the architects themselves are creating and realising it, is to contribute to a whole. To integrate the art from the atelier into constructed space, and then into public space is a lesson, an apprenticeship. Since the last half of twentieth, the integration of the givens of sustainable development and the rethinking of form has been one of the irreversible transformations in constructible solutions. Aesthetic thought grounded in a consciousness of the other: the energy of the two founders is perpetuated in the attitude toward human connections, in which respective contributions are constantly renewed and thus complete one another in a harmonious and functional continuum.

Catherine Bolle is a painter, printmaker, sculptor, book designer, and publisher based in Lausanne. She earned an MFA in visual arts in public space, and her apprenticeships in various countries have expanded her horizons with the experience of diverse cultural and intellectual environments. Her work in various media includes largeformat linen canvases, and in architectural and urban contexts, indoor/outdoor sculptures in mineral glass and acrylic, and building facades in glass or fibre cement. In 1983, she founded Éditions Traces Genève, a publishing house with an emphasis on poetry, and she also edits and publishes Journal Gravé. Catherine Bolle continues to explore new spaces for printmaking as she moves between the theory of perception and realisation, between materiality and transparency.

19

Sketch by Ignacio Dahl Rocha for the courtyard of La Verrière, Montreux, with the installation of Le Lapidaire by Caterine Bolle

21

Toward an Integral Practice of Architecture Ignacio Dahl Rocha

22

Toward a professional model

Over many years of practice, certain preoccupations have emerged gradually to become what we might call our pet subjects or themes. These themes are what essentially motivated us to undertake the reflections in this book. They draw sustenance from two sources: reflection on our professional practice, on one hand, and on the other, a broader vision, one that inscribes our practice within its historic and cultural context – in short, architecture as a discipline. It is not our intention to articulate any sort of “theory” of architecture to justify our work, but rather to describe our way of understanding and making architecture with the hope of elucidating the meaning of what we do. The positions we address in this book might seem to fall into what are normally called the practical and theoretical domains of architecture, but our intention is not to see these as two distinct fields of operation that need to be reconciled; instead, we see them as two complementary approaches to the work itself. The themes around which this book is organised have arisen as part of the unique experience, or we might even say universe, we are always in the process of fabricating, which is manifested consciously and unconsciously in our work. This universe revolves around a set of preferences and sensibilities that go to form our own patrimony as a collective creative subject, which we have a vested interest in understanding since, as we will see, they play a leading role in the “selective” moment of the creative process. Although these reflections may make claims with respect to the discipline of architecture in general, our universe has its own time and place, and necessarily deals with the vast but limited part of architecture it has fallen to us to address. As various critical writings on our work have noted, the particular histories of the founders and members of RDR are also important when it comes to understanding the multicultural nature of our universe. The greater part of our architecture unfolds in the geographical and cultural context of French Switzerland, although many of its subtleties are nourished by our collective international experience, personal, professional, and academic. It is essentially a body of work in the field of architecture which we have had the opportunity to enrich with projects on an urban-scale, and at the opposite extreme, experiences in the fields of furniture, interior design, industrial design, graphic design, and collaborations with architects, artists, and landscape designers. Most of our commissions come from private-sector clients and funding, and despite the great diversity of building types we have undertaken, our work is not restricted to prestige buildings, but rather represents the profession as a whole, in 360 degrees. Our professional model has emerged from the nature and conditions of the local context, in which architects enjoy a relatively great degree of prominence, and may find themselves entrusted with a set of responsibilities during the construction process that is wide-ranging in comparison to that of architects working in other countries. In our case, we have elected to build into our practice professional services that range from the conception of the project to the management and administration of the building work. This includes services that might be undertaken by a construction company, and has to do with our desire to have maximum control over the whole process in order to guarantee the quality of the final product. This model also corresponds to a particular studio size, one that enables us to take on projects of a certain scope and complexity. The challenge has been to respond to the organisational demands that come with the increasing scale of professional practice without, for all that, abandoning the “artisanal” quality of the work. Over the course of 20 years, as the studio expanded from 19 collaborators in 1993 to 58 in 2003, and almost 100 in 2013, the apparent contradiction between the inevitability of growth and our persistent desire to remain close to the design work to ensure its quality called for strategies that would not compromise the integral approach with which we began. From the aesthetic, technical, and human points of view, this approach has guaranteed

23

that the fragmentation and dispersion occasioned by the ever-increasing specialisation of professional skills and project management would not bring us to our limits. We have always placed great importance on a mode of practice wherein the partners participate actively in the design work, and our great challenge has been to strike a balance between the need for rigor and professional “efficiency,” and the desire to maintain a stimulating environment conducive to architectural creativity. These demands have led us to experiment with and develop design methods that favour what we call “collective creativity.” The efforts we have made to shape this professional model were recognised in 2012 when the Swiss Venture Club awarded us their Prix SVC as the second most innovative company in French-speaking Switzerland, a distinction that is unusual for an architecture studio. In keeping with our view of architecture, our professional model aspires to a broad and inclusive vision of practice, and is characterised by an effort to tackle all aspects of it, professional as well as disciplinary, with the same degree of excellence. This attempt at integration on the part of the studio seeks to go beyond the profession as a métier in order to link it to the historical and institutional trajectories of the discipline, thus granting it wider meaning as a cultural fact. One of the aims of this integral model is to transcend stereotyped, reductive visions that distinguish between models of professional practice “committed” to creativity, critical thinking, and research, and others “devoted” to the demands of market efficiency, profitability, and representativeness, associated respectively with so-called “auteur” and “corporate” architectures. One of the symptoms of disintegration within the discipline is the stereotype of the architect as an eccentric sniper or presumptuous individual genius. While in the last few decades architects have regained social prominence in their new role as purveyors of “prestige brand-names” capable of responding to the needs of “marketing” with “stand-out” buildings, in reality, this represents a minuscule development with respect to the totality of the built environment and is not the type of “integration” we are referring to. In fact, as we see it, the integration of the architect ought to be based on an awareness of architecture as a vocation of service, and upon the great potential of one of the architect's more typical and natural skills: the capacity for synthesis. Indeed, the capacity for synthesis that architects bring to complex problems of a technical as well as a cultural kind becomes more rare as contemporary culture becomes more specialised, and as such grants us a relative advantage with respect to other professions. RDR: Identity, Values, and Organisation Founded in 1993, the Richter Dahl Rocha studio grew out of a friendship that began in 1981 at Yale University, where Jacques Richter and I pursued postgraduate studies. Incorporated into the team at an early date were Kenneth Ross and Christian Leibbrandt. They became associés of the office in 1999. In 2002, RDR Design SA was created with the dual objectives of capitalising on experiments carried out by the studio and providing our clients with a variety of services in the design field. Since 2008, Claudia Dell'Ariccia has been directrice of this team. In 2005, with the participation of Bruno Emmer and Bárbara Moyano, who had been working in the Lausanne studio for a number of years, RDR Arquitectos was founded in Buenos Aires. The three studios work in close collaboration and complement one another by means of permanent cultural and human exchange as well as through the transfer of knowledge and expertise. As a group representing many nationalities, we share a vision of professional practice and of the discipline that is enriched by our diverse individual experiences and perspectives. The relatively rapid and sustained growth of the office eventually called for reflection, consultation, and eventually adaptation of its organisation on various occasions. As we have tried to map out in the synoptic diagram that follows, this has occurred in several stages, and in every instance, we worked with consultants to evaluate our architectural practice in light of the “tools” and strategies used in business management, adapting those to our particular needs. Today, the office is organised in five design teams supported by an administrative team. In order to improve the services we provide, and due to the sheer volume of our activities, an independent team was organised in 2007 to handle construction, with Fabrizio Giacometti assuming leadership and becoming an associé in 2009. Since 2013, the management of the studio has included seven directeurs adjoints who represent the next generation and guarantee the continuity of the studio.

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The act of reflecting on our practice in the course of writing this book became an occasion to think about our collective identity, values, and goals. And when, in the context of a strategic workshop in Champéry in 2011, we were asked by consultants to produce a synthesis, we defined our vision as “an integral practice that strikes a balance between creativity and professionalism in order to place architecture in the service of everyone's well-being.” In this scenario, the ideas that clearly appeared were our concern for the human factors and our collective understanding of architecture as a vocation of service. This also articulates the ethical dimension of our practice. The “well-being of everyone” includes the human development of the office as a whole, and each of our collaborators on an individual basis. It includes to no lesser degree the users of our buildings and our clients, as well as all those people and companies with whom we collaborate to bring our work into being. For us, the question now is, does the model we have been developing up to this point have a future? Is it worthwhile to insist on a professional model founded on an integral vision, from a human and a technical point of view, when the forces of specialisation and globalisation constantly pull us in the opposite direction? We are experiencing a cultural evolution in which the information overload and increasing specialisation of knowledge pushes the scope and complexity of the universe of architecture beyond the traditional competencies of the architect. And as information and specialised knowledge become evermore unwieldy, our participation in the general process risks being reduced, even potentially eliminated, and it is not clear whether communication technologies allow us to offset the negative effects of the tendency to fragmentation and disintegration within our profession. In the face of this, how do we achieve balance between the need to circumscribe and specialise in a particular aspect of our work, and thus stay in the game, and the option to prioritise our role as “orchestra conductor” to ensure that architects will continue to be engaged with the development of the built environment at large. This brings us to a corollary question: is it possible to avoid the sense of alienation that results when the architect is excluded from full participation in this process? Is there a future for the model we think of as “artisanal” and to some extent localised geographically, even though it is international in its make-up and scope, in which we strive for direct collaboration, not only with our clients and the users of our buildings, but also the craftsmen and fabricators and the whole machinery of the construction industry? In a recent discussion with a young and talented architect, the subject of our professional model came up, and we heard the same question put another way. He explained how different from ours was the emerging model for their practice. What could be called a “global” model had on one hand solved the problem of a shortage of work in their local context, offering them the opportunity to win international competitions, but on the other hand imposed the rules of a game very different from the ones according to which we operate. Their priority had become knowing how not to be eliminated in the first round of a competition, how to seduce the jury in a moment so that the project would not be passed over along with many others. And if their project was selected, they would know in advance that they would be operating in an unknown place and in a cultural context they could barely comprehend. As a result, their participation would amount to a small part of the overall process. It was clear to us that they were highly conscious of the fact that the architecture they had produced under these conditions was profoundly affected by the rules of a very different game. On their side, they were forced to ask themselves, “Are we selling our souls to the devil?”

GROUPE RDR Richter Dahl Rocha & Associés Architectes SA

RDR Design SA

Jacques Richter - Ignacio Dahl Rocha Équipe Directeur Associé Kenneth Ross

Équipe

Équipe

Équipe

Équipe

Équipe

Équipe

Directeur Associé Christian Leibbrandt Directeur Manuel Perez

Directeurs Adjoints Baris Kansu Alexis Wintsch

RDR Arquitectos SA Direction Générale Ignacio Dahl Rocha - Bruno Emmer

Direction Générale

Directeur Adjoint Antoine Barc

Directeur Adjoint Nuno Santos Pereira Équipe réalisation Directeur Associé Fabrizio Giacometti Équipe administration Directrice Anne-Sylvie Isely

Directrice Claudia Dell’Ariccia Directeurs Adjoints Hilario Dahl Rocha Frédéric Comby

Directeur Adjoint Santiago Pagés

Directeur Adjoint Facundo Morando

25

RDR Architectes, rue du Jura 11, Lausanne

RDR Design, Avenue Dapples 54, Lausanne

Richter Dahl Rocha & Associés architectes, Lausanne, Switzerland Jacques Richter, Ignacio Dahl Rocha, Kenneth Ross, Christian Leibbrandt, Fabrizio Giacometti, Manuel Perez, Hilario Dahl Rocha, Frédéric Comby, Antoine Barc, Santiago Pagés, Baris Kansu, Nuno Santos Pereira, Alexis Wintsch, Anne-Sylvie Isely Lovy, Frédéric Abbet, Nicolas Adrien, Rafael Aliende, Federico Almarcegui, Adrien Barakat, Thomas Birrer, Dylan Bisi, Barbara Boni, Christelle Bourgeois, Nicolas Braem, Mauro Branco, Bouchra Charbonnet, Angela Clua, Yann Collomb, Isabel Cuéllar, Yannick Deppierraz, Muriz Djurdjevic, Pedro Dos Santos, Joana Eira-Velha, Bernard Emonet, Mabilde Filipe, Alberto Filipe, Bernard Freymond, Christophe Gachnang, Alberto Garmendia, Mathieu Gendron, Patrik Goël, Michel Gribi, Pouska Haessig, Caroline Illobre, Martin Ioelster, Arnaud Iseli, Nathalie Khelfi, Séline Kocher, Roberto Kossi Odi, Pamela Lanzrein, Marc López, Maria Losana Vela, Juan Manuel Lynch, Andrea Magatti, Pierre Magnin, Isabelle Marchionno, Gilles Margot, Philippe Marmillod, Mafalda Mauricio, Maialen Monte, Marcello Monti, Martin Mouzo, Carine Nilson, Michel Paganin, Samuel Page, Sacha Pannatier, Philippe Papaux, Isabel Parra, Lionel Peter, Marco Petruzzi, Tiziano Piazzalunga, Cristina Platero, Nathanaël Pons, Edurne Pradera, Pascal Rossier, Fabrice Roulin, Nathalie Saegesser, Tiffany Sauvageat, Jérémy Schaffner, Philippe Schmittler, Agnese Signorelli, Mario Sousa, Manuela ToscanEssyad, Thanh-Tung Trinh, Martina Trobisch, Andrea Valentini, Audran Valloggia, Daphné Voutaz, and Jon Irigoyen, Pauline Jochenbein, Sofia Passos Santos RDR Design Claudia Dell'Ariccia, Marco Turin, Antoine Baillie, Marie Bürgisser-Jaquier, Teresa Cots, Rita Erb, Eléonore Junod, Juliane Mayor RDR Arquitectos, Buenos Aires, Argentina Bruno Emmer, Susana Barra, Nicole Michel, Facundo Morando, Marcela Mihura, Malvina Bali, Clara Carrera, Josefina De Paul, Agustín Negri, Agustín Melillo, Nicole Michel, Rodrigo Muro de Nadal, Martina Portugal, Estefanía Ranftl, Martín Roselló, Tomás Rowinski, Sofía Vivacqua, Guillermo Aporszegi, Ignacio Bóscolo, Leo Damagnez, Caroline Favre, Bruno Goroni, Maria Victoria Lynch, Esteban Sciarrotta, Laura D’Angelo, Ovidio Lagos, Maud Laronze

RDR Arquitectos, Montevideo 1669, Buenos Aires

RDR Architectes, Avenue Dapples 54, Lausanne

26

Toward a professional model

History History Milestones Milestones

Emblematic EmblematicProjects Projects

1981 1981

Meeting MeetingatatYale YaleSchool SchoolofofArchitecture Architecture Jacques JacquesRichter, Richter,Ignacio IgnacioDahl DahlRocha Rocha

1983 1983

M. M.Arch, Arch,Yale YaleSchool SchoolofofArchitecture Architecture Ignacio IgnacioDahl DahlRocha Rocharesumes resumespractice practicewith with Billoch, Billoch,Dahl DahlRocha, Rocha,Ramos, Ramos,Buenos BuenosAires Aires

Events Events

Jacques JacquesRichter Richterreturns returnstotoLausanne Lausanne totojoin joinRichter RichteretetGut Gutbureau bureaud’architectes d’architectesSA SA

Espacité, Espacité,La LaChaux-de-Fonds, Chaux-de-Fonds,1987–95 1987–95

Arrival ArrivalofofIgnacio IgnacioDahl DahlRocha RochaininLausanne Lausanne

FAE FAEMuseum MuseumofofContemporary ContemporaryArt, Art,Pully, Pully,1990–91 1990–91

1990 1990

Arrival ArrivalofofKenneth KennethRoss RossininLausanne Lausanne

Exhibition, Exhibition,EUROPAN EUROPAN11 Évolution Évolutiondes desmodes modesde devie vieet etarchitectures architecturesdu dulogement logement Forum Forumdu duCentre CentrePompidou, Pompidou,Paris, Paris,1989 1989

SWHome®, SWHome®,Housing HousingSystem, System,1990–95 1990–95

Installation Installationofofstudio studioatatAvenue AvenueDapples Dapples77

1993 1993

Foundation FoundationofofRichter Richter&&Dahl DahlRocha Rocha bureau bureaud’architectes d’architectesSA, SA, succeeding succeedingRichter RichteretetGut Gut bureau bureaud’architectes d’architectesSA, SA,founded foundedinin1963 1963

EOS EOSHeadquarters, Headquarters,Lausanne, Lausanne,1991–95 1991–95 Forest ForestRefuge, Refuge,Vallée Valléede deJoux, Joux,1991–96 1991–96

Exhibition, Exhibition,Musées Muséesd'Art d'Arten enSuisse: Suisse:Réalisations Réalisationset etprojets projets Forum Forumde del'architecture l'architecture++Centre CentrePasquART, PasquART,Bienne, Bienne,1994–95 1994–95

Golay GolayBuchel BuchelHeadquarters, Headquarters,Lausanne, Lausanne,1991–97 1991–97 CFF CFFTrain TrainMaintenance MaintenanceCenter, Center,Geneva, Geneva,1995–99 1995–99

Christian ChristianLeibbrandt Leibbrandtjoins joinsstudio studio

Nestlé NestléHeadquarters Headquarters“En “EnBergère,” Bergère,”Vevey, Vevey,1996–2000 1996–2000

Exhibition, Exhibition,Yale YaleUniversity, University,New NewHaven, Haven,1995 1995

1996 1996

Quartier Quartierdes desUttins, Uttins,Rolle, Rolle,1998–2009 1998–2009 IMD IMDExecutive ExecutiveLearning LearningCenter, Center,Lausanne, Lausanne,1999–2002 1999–2002

1999 1999

Kenneth KennethRoss, Ross,Christian ChristianLeibbrandt Leibbrandt become becomeassociés associésofofRDR RDR

Route Routede deBerne Berne46, 46,Lausanne, Lausanne,2001–05 2001–05

Travelling Travellingexhibition, exhibition,Richter Richteret etDahl DahlRocha RochaArchitectes Architectes1990–1996 1990–1996 Centro Centrode deEstudios Estudiosde deArquitectura ArquitecturaContemporánea Contemporánea de delalaUniversidad UniversidadTorcuato TorcuatoDi DiTella Tellaand andFundación FundaciónProa, Proa, Buenos BuenosAires, Aires,1997 1997 Universidad UniversidadCatólica, Católica,Santiago, Santiago,Chile, Chile,1998 1998

Clinique CliniqueLa LaPrairie, Prairie,Clarens-Montreux, Clarens-Montreux,2001–05 2001–05 La LaVerrière, Verrière,Montreux, Montreux,2001–05 2001–05

Move Movetototransformed transformedoffices officesatat Avenue AvenueDapples Dapples54 54

Exhibition, Exhibition,Distinction DistinctionVaudoise Vaudoised'Architecture d'Architecture Forum Forumd'Architectures d'Architectures(FAR), (FAR),Lausanne, Lausanne,2000 2000

Credit CreditSuisse SuisseLion Liond’Or, d’Or,Lausanne, Lausanne,2001–06 2001–06 Nestlé NestléProduct ProductTechnology TechnologyCenter CenterSingen, Singen,2002–03 2002–03

2002 2002

Creation CreationofofRDR RDRDesign DesignSA SA led ledby byCédric CédricSimon Simon

IMD IMDNestlé NestléBuilding, Building,Lausanne, Lausanne,2002–06 2002–06

2003 2003

10 years years 10 2005 2005

Creation CreationofofRDR RDRArquitectos Arquitectos Buenos BuenosAires Airesled ledby byBruno BrunoEmmer Emmer and andBárbara BárbaraMoyano MoyanoGacitúa Gacitúa

Exhibition, Exhibition,Subtilités, Subtilités,Archivio ArchivioCattaneo, Cattaneo,Cernobbio Cernobbio(Como), (Como),Italy, Italy,2001 2001

IMD IMDNew NewMeeting MeetingPlace, Place,Lausanne, Lausanne,2002–05 2002–05

2007 2007

IMD IMDMærsk MærskMc-Kinney Mc-KinneyMøller MøllerCenter, Center,Lausanne, Lausanne,2005–08 2005–08 Aquatis, Aquatis,Lausanne-Vennes, Lausanne-Vennes,2005–16 2005–16

Booklaunch, launch,The TheArchitecture Architectureof ofRichter Richter&&Dahl DahlRocha Rocha Book UniversidadTorcuato TorcuatoDi DiTella, Tella,Buenos BuenosAires, Aires,2007 2007 Universidad

Clestra ClestraBoà®, Boà®,Strasbourg, Strasbourg,2006 2006 Flon FlonLes LesMercier, Mercier,Lausanne, Lausanne,2006–08 2006–08

2009 2009

Olympic OlympicYouth YouthDevelopment DevelopmentCenter, Center,Zambia, Zambia,2006–09 2006–09 EPFL EPFLQuartier Quartierde del’Innovation, l’Innovation,Écublens, Écublens,2006–11 2006–11

Fabrizio FabrizioGiacometti Giacomettibecomes becomesassocié associéofofRDR RDR

Clinique CliniqueLa LaSource, Source,Lausanne, Lausanne,2007–09 2007–09

Claudia ClaudiaDell’Ariccia Dell’Aricciaassumes assumes leadership leadershipofofRDR RDRDesign DesignSA SA

Vennes Vennes3,3,Lausanne, Lausanne,2007–09 2007–09 Bobst BobstHeadquarters, Headquarters,Mex, Mex,2008–12 2008–12

2011 2011 Creation Creationofofdesign designteam teamatatrue ruedu duJura Jura11 11 led ledby byHilario HilarioDahl DahlRocha Rochaand and Frédéric FrédéricComby Comby

Exhibition, Exhibition,Alchimies Alchimiesd' d'Architectes Architectes Musée MuséeEspace EspaceArlaud, Arlaud,Lausanne, Lausanne,2005 2005

Nestlé NestléWellNes WellNesCentre, Centre,Vevey, Vevey,2005–08 2005–08

Creation Creationofofdesign designteam teamled ledby byManuel ManuelPerez Perez

Foundation FoundationofofRichter RichterDahl DahlRocha Rocha&& Associés Associésarchitectes architectesSA SA

Avenue AvenueDapples Dapples54, 54,Lausanne Lausanne

Exhibition, Exhibition,Espace EspaceAbstract, Abstract,Lausanne, Lausanne,2003 2003 MCBA MCBAMusée MuséeCantonal Cantonaldes desBeaux-Arts, Beaux-Arts,Lausanne, Lausanne,2004–05 2004–05 Clestra ClestrapleinAir®, pleinAir®,Strasbourg, Strasbourg,2004–05 2004–05

Creation CreationofofConstruction Construction Management Managementteam team led ledby byFabrizio FabrizioGiacometti Giacometti

Journée Journéeportes portesouvertes, ouvertes,1010Years YearsofofArchitecture Architecture

EPFL EPFLQuartier QuartierNord, Nord,Student StudentHousing, Housing,Écublens, Écublens,2008–13 2008–13

Exhibition, Exhibition,Carte CarteBlanche Blanche55 Forum Forumd'Architectures d'Architectures(FAR), (FAR),Lausanne, Lausanne,2008 2008 Inaugural Inauguralpresentation presentationof of Richter RichterDahl DahlRocha Rocha&&Associés Associésarchitectes architectesSA SA L'esprit L'espritd'un d'unprojet projet International InternationalInstitute Institutefor forManagement ManagementDevelopment, Development,Lausanne, Lausanne,2009 2009 Exhibition, Exhibition,Bienal BienalInternacional Internacionalde deArquitectura Arquitecturade deBuenos BuenosAires Aires XIIIBA11, XIIIBA11,2011 2011

EPFL EPFLQuartier QuartierNord, Nord,SwissTech SwissTechConvention ConventionCenter, Center,Écublens, Écublens,2008–14 2008–14 UBS UBSRhône, Rhône,Geneva, Geneva,2010–15 2010–15

EHL EHLNew NewCampus CampusMaster MasterPlan, Plan,Le LeChalet-à-Gobet Chalet-à-Gobet(Lausanne), (Lausanne),2012– 2012–

Exhibition, Exhibition,ARTquitectura: ARTquitectura: Catherine CatherineBolle Bolleand andRichter RichterDahl DahlRocha Rocha&&Associés Associés La LaPlataforma PlataformaEcoSuiza, EcoSuiza,Buenos BuenosAires, Aires,2012 2012

Les LesFiches, Fiches,Lausanne-Vennes, Lausanne-Vennes,2013–15 2013–15

Swiss SwissVenture VentureClub ClubPrix PrixSVC, SVC,2nd 2ndPrize, Prize,Lausanne, Lausanne,2012 2012

Avenue Avenuede deSainte-Luce, Sainte-Luce,Lausanne, Lausanne,2012–15 2012–15

Creation CreationofofAdministration Administrationteam team led ledby byAnne-Sylvie Anne-SylvieIsely IselyLovy Lovy Appointment Appointmentofofdirecteurs directeursadjoints, adjoints, Hilario HilarioDahl DahlRocha, Rocha,Frédéric FrédéricComby, Comby, Antoine AntoineBarc, Barc,Santiago SantiagoPagés, Pagés, Baris BarisKansu, Kansu,Nuno NunoSantos SantosPereira, Pereira, Alexis AlexisWintsch Wintsch

2013 2013 20 20 years years

Exhibition, Exhibition,Bienal BienalInternacional Internacionalde deArquitectura Arquitecturade deBuenos BuenosAires, Aires, XIVBA13, XIVBA13,2013 2013

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A A professional professional model model

Identity Identity || Values Values ......an anintegral integralpractice practicethat thatstrikes strikesaabalance balancebetween betweencreativity creativityand andprofessionalism professionalism in inorder orderto toplace placearchitecture architecturein inthe theservice serviceof ofeveryone's everyone'swell-being. well-being.

2011 Atelier AtelierStratégique, Stratégique,Champéry, Champéry,November November2011

Publications Publications||Lectures Lectures

1990 1990

INITIAL INITIALCHALLENGE CHALLENGE Jacques JacquesRichter Richter//Ignacio IgnacioDahl DahlRocha RochaArchitectes, Architectes,Projets ProjetsetetRéalisations Réalisations1989–1991 1989–1991 Lausanne: Lausanne:Édition ÉditionEUROPAN-Suisse, EUROPAN-Suisse,1991 1991

Evolution EvolutionofofRichter RichteretetGut Gut

FAE FAEUn UnMusée Muséed'Art d'ArtContemporain, Contemporain,Véronique VéroniqueMauron, Mauron,Les LesCahiers Cahiersde delalaGazette Gazette44(1991) (1991)

Transferofofleadership leadershiptoto Transfer JacquesRichter, Richter,Ignacio IgnacioDahl DahlRocha Rocha Jacques

Espacité, Espacité,texts textsby bySylvie SylvieMoser, Moser,Denis DenisClerc, Clerc,Jacques JacquesGubler Gubler Lausanne: Lausanne:Éditions ÉditionsRDR, RDR,1994 1994 Musées Muséesd'Art d'Arten enSuisse: Suisse:Réalisations RéalisationsetetProjets, Projets,exhibition exhibitioncatalogue catalogue texts textsby byAlain-G. Alain-G.Tschumi, Tschumi,Andreas AndreasMeier, Meier,Benedikt BenediktLoderer Loderer Bienne: Bienne:Forum Forumd'architecture d'architectureand andCentre CentrePasquART, PasquART,1994 1994

GROWTH GROWTH Studio StudioModel Model

Richter RichteretetDahl DahlRocha, Rocha,architectes architectes1990–1996, 1990–1996,exhibition exhibitioncatalogue catalogue Centro Centrode deEstudios Estudiosde deArquitectura ArquitecturaContemporánea, Contemporánea,Universidad UniversidadTorcuato TorcuatodidiTella Tella Lausanne: Lausanne:Éditions ÉditionsRDR, RDR,1997 1997

19collaborators collaborators 19

1996 1996 1997 1997

40collaborators collaborators 40

1999 1999

Growthcrisis crisis Growth

Richter RichteretetDahl DahlRocha, Rocha,text textby byJorge JorgeFrancisco FranciscoLiernur Liernur Gloucester, Gloucester,Mass: Mass:Rockport RockportEditions, Editions,1999 1999

2000 2000

Buildingon onOur OurFoundations, Foundations,texts textsby byPeter PeterBrabeck-Letmathe, Brabeck-Letmathe,Peter PeterBear Bear Building Vevey:Nestlé NestléEditions, Editions,2000 2000 Vevey:

AAModern ModernMove: Move:Transforming TransformingNestlé NestléHeadquarters HeadquartersininVevey, Vevey, Richter Richterand andDahl DahlRocha Rochaarchitects, architects,texts textsby byMario MarioCampi, Campi,Jacques JacquesGubler Gubler Basel, Basel,Berlin, Berlin,Boston: Boston:Birkhäuser, Birkhäuser,2002 2002

2003 2003

“Máxima “Máximarestricción,” restricción,”Ignacio IgnacioDahl DahlRocha Rochainterview interviewwith withCayetana CayetanaMercé, Mercé,Summa+ Summa+53 53(2002) (2002) “Un “Unbureau bureauface faceààlalapluridisciplinarité,” pluridisciplinarité,”Ignacio IgnacioDahl DahlRocha, Rocha,Architecture ArchitectureSuisse Suisse152 152(2004) (2004) REORGANISATION REORGANISATION “L'architecturedemeure,” demeure,”lecture lectureby byJacques JacquesRichter Richterand andIgnacio IgnacioDahl DahlRocha, Rocha,EPFL, EPFL,Écublens, Écublens,2006 2006 “L'architecture The TheArchitecture Architectureof ofRichter Richter&&Dahl DahlRocha, Rocha,text textby byJorge JorgeFrancisco FranciscoLiernur Liernur Basel, Basel,Berlin, Berlin,Boston: Boston:Birkhäuser Birkhäuser

1993 1993

2007 2007

“La “Laculture cultured'entreprise,” d'entreprise,”lecture lectureby byChristian ChristianLeibbrandt, Leibbrandt,Avenue AvenueDapples Dapples54, 54,Lausanne, Lausanne,2007 2007

L'esprit L'espritd'un d'unprojet, projet,International InternationalInstitute Institutefor forManagement ManagementDevelopment, Development,Lausanne, Lausanne,2009 2009 Jacques JacquesRichter, Richter,“Regard “Regarddans dansleleretroviseur”; retroviseur”;Christian ChristianLeibbrandt, Leibbrandt,“Identité “IdentitéetetValeurs” Valeurs” Kenneth KennethRoss, Ross,“Le “Leprojet projetIMD IMDMærsk MærskMc-Kinney Mc-KinneyMøller MøllerCenter” Center” Fabrizio FabrizioGiacometti, Giacometti,“Construction “ConstructionetetArchitecture” Architecture” Ignacio IgnacioDahl DahlRocha, Rocha,“Quelques “Quelquesréflections réflectionssur surnotre notretravail travailetetsur surl’équipe” l’équipe”

2005 2005

Re-evaluation Re-evaluationofofthe thepractice practiceinin light lightofofmanagement managementmodels modelsand andstrategies strategies

58 58collaborators collaborators

Administrative Administrativereorganisation reorganisation consultancy, consultancy,Isabelle IsabelleSimon Simon Organigram Organigram

Restructuring Restructuringthe thepractice practice Creation Creationofof“design “designteams” teams”

First Firstbiannual biannualDirectors’ Directors’Retreat, Retreat, November November2007 2007

Development Developmentofofleadership leadershiproles roles Creation Creationofofaa“construction “constructionmanagement” management” team teamas asan anindependent independententity entity

ADAPTATION ADAPTATION

2010 2010

Restructuringthe thepractice practicetoto Restructuring establishaabalance balancebetween between establish professionalismand andthe thequality qualityofofthe the professionalism creativeenvironment environmentininthe theoffice office creative

“La “Lasoeur soeurcadette,” cadette,”Ignacio IgnacioDahl DahlRocha, Rocha,ininCatherine CatherineBolle, Bolle,Les Lesateliers atelierscontigus contigus Bern: Bern:Benteli BenteliVerlag Verlagand andCatherine CatherineBolle, Bolle,2011 2011

First Firstdiagnostic, diagnostic, Consultancy, Consultancy,TMP, TMP,Florian FlorianSchmied Schmied

Second Seconddiagnostic diagnosticConsultancy, Consultancy, MSP, MSP,Pierre-Alain Pierre-AlainKohler Kohler Atelier AtelierStratégique, Stratégique, Champéry, Champéry,November November2011 2011

Developmentofofdesign designteams teams Development

Lecture, Lecture,“Belleza “Bellezayyvocación vocaciónde deservicio, servicio,notas notaspara parauna unaética éticade delalaestética” estética” Ignacio IgnacioDahl DahlRocha, Rocha,Universidad Universidadde deNavarra, Navarra,Campus CampusUtzama, Utzama,2012 2012

Promotionofofdesign designteam teamleaders leaders Promotion Puttingthe thenotion notionofof Putting “collectivecreativity” creativity”into intopractice practice “collective

Toward Towardan anIntegral IntegralPractice Practiceof ofArchitecture Architecture Basel: Basel:Birkhäuser Birkhäuser

2013 2013

CONTINUITY CONTINUITY

2013 2013

Developmentofofan anevolving evolving Development modelfor forprofessional professionalpractice practice model Creationofofan an“administration” “administration”team team Creation asan anindependent independententity entity as Appointmentofof77directeurs directeursadjoints adjoints Appointment

New NewOrganigram Organigram 83 83collaborators, collaborators,Lausanne Lausanne 12 12collaborators collaborators RDR RDRArquitectos, Arquitectos,Buenos BuenosAires Aires

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Balances and imbalances

Moving from the subject of our professional model to some reflections on the discipline of architecture, it is important to begin by situating our work within the context of contemporary culture. Of necessity, we do so from a panoramic perspective, and in a state of bewilderment and uncertainty with respect to the incessant transformations of that cultural context, which succeed one another at a dizzying rate. These changes affect the discipline in general, as well as the quality of professional life. Among the positive developments, it goes without saying that the passion for what we do has been enhanced by developments in computing and communication, a domain with seemingly unlimited horizons offering unprecedented stimulation, with instantaneous and nearly total access to information. The field of construction has likewise been greatly enhanced by developments in materials, technologies, and robotics applied to industrial tasks. Nevertheless, many advances in contemporary culture have led to “imbalances” which in our view have a negative effect on architecture. The most obvious symptoms of these imbalances are expressed in the apparent inability of our discipline to improve the quality of the built environment. Ironically, the architecture that is often considered to be the most “advanced,” and is most valued by the media, the marketplace, and even the academy, demonstrates little interest in this very basic problem, instead allowing itself to be absorbed in narcissism, adopting a solipsistic attitude. In fact, rather than concern themselves with the needs and well-being of their users, architects often serve only themselves and the market, with its insatiable demand for novelty and seduction. Much of today's architecture is known and judged by the consumption of images in the mass media rather than actual experience on the part of users and occupants. Innovation for its own sake has become an obsession, and the constant demand for novelty frantically accelerates the natural tempo of architecture. The processes of planning and building last for less and less time; the buildings, too. In short, we find ourselves running faster and faster without really knowing where to, while architecture gives ground as an object of culture and in its ability to endure, adopting the rules of the fashion system in which buildings become commodities. It is also worth noting that what we consider to be positive advances in computing and building technologies have also given rise to the cult of an architecture of complexity-for-complexity's-sake which frequently defies common sense, and deploys such an ostentatious quantity of means that its ends are forgotten. The ease with which material and intellectual resources are squandered in contemporary architecture starkly contrasts with the qualitative and quantitative poverty of the greater share of the built environment. This situation turns out to be particularly contradictory in a culture that with very good reason lays claim to the urgency of sustainable development. It is important to emphasise that it is not a matter of opposing the phenomena against which we find ourselves resisting. Rather, we have adopted an attitude that calls into question the interpretation of these phenomena, and above all rejects their excesses. In our practice, when we are confronted with such outcomes, we ask ourselves how they affect our work. We view them as architecture out of balance, and our response is to revalorise the opposite notion, that of balance. In a culture that tends toward the obvious and the excessive, the notion of balance does not arouse much interest, and yet the writing is on the wall. Whereas we fully embrace innovation as a vital necessity and a tremendous stimulus to creativity, how can we not be disturbed by the distortions that fuel a frantic rush toward the new? And even if the benefits of the mass media are undeniable, how can we avoid being dismayed when we see architecture reduced to the status of images to be consumed? Astounding technical progress in the conception and fabrication of buildings is another domain of undeniable value to architecture, and yet how can we ignore the abuse of its potential, the cult of complexity, and the squandering of means that accompanies the formalist excesses characterising much contemporary architecture? Though we are exhilarated

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by the infinite universe of design and visual art brought to us by the mass media, at the same time, we are uneasy when we see this overabundance leading to indiscriminate consumption, which inevitably diminishes our ability to appreciate things and our capacity to maintain a critical attitude toward them. The consequences of such egregious imbalances are transforming our discipline. The less optimistic don't hesitate to rule out architecture's disappearance, at least architecture as we know it today, in the form it has existed for centuries. We remain attentive and alert to these changes in order to understand and to incorporate them into our work. Architecture as Service to Society All the same, we are aware that, as protagonists, it is difficult for us to distinguish between transformations of a superficial nature and more profound ones. In the face of the cultural dispersion that characterises our times, what should our position be? Which values will endure? On what basic principles can we continue the practice and teaching of architecture? We believe that during such moments of dizzying change and transformation, only an attitude of maximum openness can allow us to deeply understand what is happening around us. However, a general principle that ought to be a common denominator and point of departure when it comes to redirecting the debate about architecture is the notion of architecture as a service to society. Paradoxically, and however obvious it may seem, this ethical dimension does not appear to find a meaningful place in debates on contemporary architecture, and the subject does not give the impression of really moving avant-garde designers, who appear to be in thrall to their own complacency. The lessons we learn through our daily practice in dealing with these imbalances allow us to hypothesise that a commitment to architecture as a service would suffice to redress many of them. We hope that our work and the reflections that accompany it will illustrate this stand. The Culture of Ingenuity While it is not the objective of these reflections to analyse the nature and origin of imbalances in the culture of architecture, an interpretation that has proven highly illuminating to us in our attempt to understand the cultural problems affecting architecture today is Spanish philosopher José Antonio Marina's Elogio y refutación del ingenio (Eulogy and Refutation of Ingenuity).1 It is surprising to follow his interpretation of ingenuity, which, as the title suggests, begins with a eulogy and ends in refutation. Marina associates ingenuity with the culture of laughter, parody, irony, and cynicism. For him, the aesthetic of ingenuity is that of the dispenser, infinite proliferation, indiscriminate abundance. Paradoxically, the only “permanent” value with which it can be identified is novelty. To this can be added profusion, speed, and wit, tinged with contempt for tradition and received knowledge. Like contemporary art, which Marina considers ingenious, its goal is not to create beauty, but rather liberty. The ingenious person does not produce great works. He feels drawn to the extravagant, the false, the equivocal, and the insolent, yet is not a revolutionary, a destroyer of the established order; rather, he is a transgressor, an eccentric who thrives on surprise and scandal. Contemporary society is based on an ingenious culture. However, Marina puts us on guard by arguing that ingenuity is not a diversion, but rather an ambivalent way of life. For him, the ingenious intelligence generates a system, the internal logic of which produces a way of being and of creating culture. He confesses: “I was seeking to analyse an intellectual skill, a rhetorical game, in short, an aesthetic issue, and I came face to face with metaphysics and morality upon realising that ingenuity is an existential project, a life system.”2 Marina defines it in the following way: “Ingenuity is the project the intelligence devises in order to live playfully. Its goal is to arrive at a detached freedom, safe from veneration and the norm. Its method, the generalised devaluation of reality.”3 The purpose of ingenuity is to liberate the intelligence from the reality that oppresses it. It does not aspire to the denial of reality, but rather to play with it, to no purpose other than its own self-referential game. To that end, it fragments and arbitrarily disassociates things. It has collaborated with the main objective of modernism in the conquest of freedom, and it has achieved this by devaluing all manner of beliefs and ideologies, but when these bonds have disappeared, the individual is free in the name of nothingness. As Marina suggests, ingenuity deserves a eulogy because it liberates us, but its also deserves refutation insofar as it annihilates us. Its foundational experience is flight, and behind its witty gestures lies a disillusioned concept of reality. Marina believes that ingenious culture has run its course, and that at least we have learned that freedom is not achieved through contempt. It's possible to take this as a lens through which to read

1 José Antonio Marina, Elogio y refutación del ingenio (Barcelona: Anagrama, 1992). As Marina's book has not been translated into English, passages are quoted in translations by Paul Hammond, with my emendations. 2 “Pretendía analizar una habilidad intelectual, un juego retórico – en definitiva un tema estético – y me di de bruces con la metafisica y la moral al comprobar que el ingenio es un proyecto existencial, un sistema de vida,” Marina, Elogio y refutación del ingenio, 23. 3 “Ingenio es el proyecto que elabora la inteligencia para vivir jugando. Su meta es conseguir una libertad desligada, a salvo de la veneración y de la norma. Su método, la devaluación generalizada de la realidad,” Marina, Elogio y refutación del ingenio, 23.

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contemporary architectural culture. It has helped us to comprehend the basis of our own discontent with respect to that culture of architecture, as well as to grasp and articulate another position with which we feel identified. Toward an Integral Experience Before moving on to the matter of our work, we want to pause for a moment to comment on precisely this position, which for us is a distinctive and pervasive feature of the work. The position we will try to articulate seeks to stimulate creativity based on reality, but avoid the pitfall of detaching oneself from reality by playing with it, breaking it up, and arbitrarily disassociating things. Instead, and even when reality is ungraspable, we seek to embrace it in a broader and deeper way, as a collective force opposed to cultural fragmentation and dedicated to cohesion and meaning. To do this requires, along with an inclusive attitude, a never-ending search for balance between the facts and the values that make up this reality. A practical application of this vision allows us to acknowledge that the nature and number of problems we choose to engage or to ignore in our experience of architecture, along with the relative importance we assign them, are not innocent with regard to the end result. We understand that the practice of any discipline entails conceptualising and breaking up a body of knowledge, but we know that the many ways in which these operations of “dissecting reality” are carried out do not represent objective methods for tackling reality, but rather our own subjective way of understanding and making architecture. We must admit that an awareness of the importance of this issue has been strengthened as a critical reaction to another contemporary tendency: Architecture in thrall to desire for astonishment succumbs to the temptation to guarantee an interesting or novel result by emphasising, and at times even caricaturing certain aspects of the problem and playing down others. This almost always occurs to the detriment of the consistency of the buildings. We understand that exploring architecture by foregrounding some of its aspects or directly circumscribing parts of it and renouncing others is necessary, and has the virtue of opening up new horizons in our creative work and our research. However, it also carries the risk that this process of learning or research will be innocently generalised and uncritically applied in practice, whereas a balanced and inclusive attitude is fundamental. When urgencies were political, questions of project design were superfluous or bourgeois; in the heyday of methodology or semiology, there lay the path, we thought. Today it’s the moment of ecology and computer modelling. Taking one or another parameter as a focus pushes us to think and to progress, provided we don’t misread the fundamental architectural problem. Our experience allows us to affirm that an architecture which consciously chooses the path of inclusion and balance, of non-refusal to confront all kinds of “constraints,” whether technical, programmatic, or symbolic, and places human beings before the architectural object at the center of its preoccupations, is not choosing the “creatively” less ambitious path. On the contrary, we grant that it is the more difficult path, but we believe it is the one that potentially leads to the maximum critical and creative depth. The more the project grasps such an ultimately ungraspable reality, the more it benefits from those “constraints,” giving them new critical meaning and a positive cast; and the more that reality is embraced, thus avoiding the temptation to superficially “enhance itself” with “extravagances,” the more ethical and aesthetic weight it acquires.

Sketch by Ignacio Dahl Rocha for the FAE Museum of Contemporary Art, Pully

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Project Profile | En Bergère in Vevey, 1996–2008

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Nestlé Headquarters, Vevey, Switzerland

In the mid-1950s, the directors of Nestlé acquired a 40,000 square metre parcel on the shore of Lake Geneva at Vevey, and the company’s two managing directors, Jean-Constant Corthésy and Enrico Bignami, commissioned Jean Tschumi (1904–62) to design their headquarters. At the time, they envisioned an administrative center to accommodate approximately 2,000 employees. Completed in 1960, Tschumi’s Y-shaped building, whose unequal arms reach toward the lake as well as the town, pays homage to Le Corbusier’s Les cinq points de l’architecture moderne (1927) as one of the most remarkable examples of postwar modernism in Switzerland. Responding to the continued growth of the company and its corporate staff, in 1976 a new generation of Nestlé directors commissioned an extension to Tschumi’s building from the architect Martin Burckhardt in collaboration with Frédéric Brugger. Only 15 years after the completion of Tschumi’s building, this second generation of architects was faced with the mandate to double the area of the corporate headquarters. The 1976 extension (Building “B”) was conceived as a slightly irregular barre building of the same height as the original building (which at that time came to be referred to as Building “A”) and positioned along the eastern limit

of the site at the dovetailed base of Tschumi’s Y. This judicious choice of typology allowed for the creation of what Burckhardt called the “garden courtyard,” insofar as it enclosed the open southern end of the large park bordering the lake which was already embraced to the north by the curving south facade of Tschumi’s building. Although from an architectural point of view Building B may be of lesser interest, being formally and stylistically a reticent, mimetic interpretation of its predecessor, it indeed fulfilled its mission to provide ample and functional working space. Though on the surface it is a project of an entirely different order than the Burckhardt and Bugger intervention, Richter Dahl Rocha’s transformation, commissioned in 1996 and completed in 2000, also had to respond to a vastly different set of conditions and a changed corporate context. Yet another generation of Nestlé management, guided by the enlightened vision of CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, was united in the mission to renovate Tschumi’s building which, after 40 years, was technically, technologically, and functionally obsolete, despite its official designation as a historic monument. The aim was to adapt the original building to current and future modes of working, to render it more flexible and efficient, but also

Above: Bird’s-eye view of Vevey at the beginning of the 1900s, with the old Grand Hôtel on the site of the future Nestlé building

Survey plan showing the footprint of the proposed Nestlé building superimposed on the footprint of the still-existing Grand Hôtel

Below: Facade of the Grand Hôtel

Two of of Tschumi’s large gouache variant studies for the Nestlé building

Tschumi’s studies of different building forms for the site of the projected Nestlé Headquarters

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to preserve and renovate it, to maintain and reinforce its role as a carrier of the company’s corporate image and culture. The fact that Tschumi’s original building had already been altered by the 1976 extension and various other interventions opened the way for a much more daring, and consequently more risky intervention. It was in particular the hybrid quality of the Nestlé Headquarters which gave the third generation of architects more freedom in their intervention. Neither new building nor extension, neither restoration nor renovation in the strictest sense, the RDR intervention should rather be understood as a transformation conditioned by critical reflection on the history of the project, taking as a point of departure problems resulting from the second phase of construction. The architects were not given a fixed program. On the contrary, the dynamic process of evaluating Nestlé’s programmatic needs and the desire for the building to remain a symbol of corporate identity became creative aspects of their mandate. Faced with the complexity of such a project, the design team did not propose one or another practical or theoretical approach. Rather, they opted for a balance among different modes of intervention. Once the initial decision had been made to strip the Tschumi

Construction phases of the Nestlé building, circa 1957–58

Model of Tschumi’s proposal for the addition of a tower to the Nestlé site, 1960

building of its aging skin and literally empty the structure of its contents, the design team adopted a flexible process that responded to the full range of problems and requirements. The architects developed a series of “tracks” to explore all possible solutions in order to prepare themselves for the complex and interrelated decisions that had to be made in rapid sequence. This process was fuelled and refined by an engaged dialogue involving clients, architects, and a users’ committee. As the process unfolded, it became obvious that an intervention on both buildings would be necessary, an insight that guided the process of preparing Tschumi’s “historic” building to step into the future. The passage into a new millennium, coupled with a change of CEO, new corporate management, and a wealth of new technology thus produced the occasion and mechanisms for a major transformation, rather than a mere renovation or restoration of the Nestlé Headquarters.

Above: Burckhardt and Brugger site plan showing their proposed extension Below: Model of Burckhardt and Brugger projected extension, circa 1973

Bird’s-eye view of the 1970s extension looking west Inauguration of Tschumi’s Nestlé Headquarters building, May 7, 1960

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Architectural interventions on modern and contemporary “monuments” actually raise issues of a different nature than those pertaining to ancient edifices that have become historical monuments or museums. Generally, interventions on ancient monuments are characterised by two prevailing strategies. The first strives for a faithful or “accurate” restoration, the intention being to bring the building back to a (hypothetical) “original” state. The second has more to do with the process of “collage,” insofar as new elements are juxtaposed with pre-existing or restored ones, creating strong contrasts and allowing for a clear comprehension of what is “old” and what is “new.” If both strategies have certain advantages, they seem to fall short when applied to “monuments” of the twentieth century. In the case of Tschumi’s Nestlé Headquarters, which called for a thorough updating of functional and technical attributes, but did not lead to a change of function, that is, the building was intended to go on “living” as the administrative headquarters of the same multinational corporation, the question of “intervention” becomes extremely complex. Complex, perhaps because the gap in time between the original construction and various interventions is not sufficient to allow one to

Richter Dahl Rocha design team at work developing the project with the Nestlé management team

Presentation and study models for the new Richter Dahl Rocha Liaison Space

dissociate the “original” from the “new.” Over the building’s lifespan of some 40 years, most of the technological and scientific paradigms that conditioned its design have continued to prevail, and the materials and forms were not drastically different from one phase of its construction to the next. The original and the new coexist in such a symbiotic relationship that no intervention can be made without affecting the various parts, and any intervention tends to affect the coherence of the whole. The RDR transformation involved different levels of intervention, ranging from the accurate historical restoration or re-installation of certain elements, to the modification, replacement, and identical simulation of others, as well as the creation of completely new elements. As the initial bold gesture, the Tschumi building was stripped down to its skeleton, with only the steelframe and concrete structure left intact. Its facades, five storeys of offices, and the 1970s “link” between the two buildings were entirely reconsidered. A new element, the “Liaison Space,” was proposed. The offices and corridors were entirely reshaped, and more flexible spaces were introduced for teamwork and conferencing. Significant interventions on the more public ground and sixth floors led to enhanced connections among public spaces

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and a new level of unity and functional coherence for the headquarters complex as a whole. The architects’ approach is immediately apparent at the ground level, in their reinterpretation of “signal” elements of the original building, the handling of the facades, and the renovation of the enormous space of Tschumi’s lobby. The bold aluminium canopy that projects out over the main entrance was restored in collaboration with the same company who manufactured it, and the massive, tapering faceted-concrete pilotis were newly sand-blasted to restore their optical relation to the triangular interior ceiling geometries. Likewise, the multi-toned triangular pavings of the grey marble floor, which had been discoloured by leaks, were restored with new stone from the original quarries. The overscale black floor lamps Tschumi originally designed for the lobby stand like sentinels, silhouetted against the glass curtain walls. In this sparsely furnished space, original chairs and tables also designed by Tschumi are clustered together to provide seating for visitors, but little else interrupts the flow of space. The “renovation” of the facades, given the Tschumi building’s status as an “historic monument,” posed a problem of far greater complexity. The facades had to be approached both as a protective envelope, a skin, and

also as a principal element in the expression of Tschumi’s architecture and Nestlé’s corporate image. The process of generating substitutes, which had to be refitted to the original structural supports, came to resemble the scientific process of cloning, and perhaps constituted the most subtle form of intervention of all. Each original facade element was identically reproduced in formal terms, down to the most minor detail, but using the latest technologies and specifications for structural soundness and maximum thermal control and soundproofing. On the sixth floor, renamed the Communication Floor, the original semi-public spaces were either renovated, as with the cinema in the northwest arm of the Y (which was brought up to the latest technological standards without losing much seating space), or restored, as with the original roof garden perched atop the northeast arm of the Y, looking out on the landscape of stone-terraced vineyards that climb the slopes of the surrounding hills. Here, the weldedsteel frame that Tschumi designed rests lightly over the aggregate stone paths and raised grassy beds.

View of the lakeside facade of the Nestlé building under construction

Work on Tschumi’s curtain wall

Lakeside facade after the Richter Dahl Rocha transformation

Views showing the articulation between the two buildings before the transformation, and corresponding perspective studies for the articulation of their connection with the Richter Dahl Rocha Liaison Space

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Nestlé Headquarters

Revisiting Tschumi’s facades

Detail of Tschumi’s original main facade, circa 1960

Lakeside elevations, circa 1960

Detail of new fenestration on the main facade, showing custom-produced Grinatal aluminium alloy apron panels

Section of the main facade

Restored aluminium canopy, cantilevered 11 metres over the main entrance

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Section details showing existing and new curtain wall system where the aluminium and glass skin meets the steel structure

Above: Two views of the original building during renovation shrouded in scaffolding Below: Point of connection between the east gable wall of Tschumi’s building and the new Liaison Space during renovation

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Detail of the south facade with brise-soleil

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Nestlé Headquarters

Strategic inventions: a new liaison

Views of the concrete structure of the Liaison Space under construction

Study models for the ramps

Axonometric rendering of the ramps fanning out to link the uneven floors of buildings A and B

View showing the multi-level atrium of the Liaison Space

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The new Oculus for Tschumi’s Chambord stairway

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The Oculus in section, showing how it was installed in the existing superstructure (originally occupied by HVAC systems), and in plan

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Views of the lightweight carbon fibre form of the skylight being fabricated in a shipyard, delivered by helicopter, and installed by hand

Nestlé Headquarters Left: Mock-ups developed for the new modular furnishing system, produced by Italian furniture manufacturer Unifor Spa

Within the walls: rethinking offices spaces

Below: The full range of furnishing elements

Typical single-occupant office equipped with the new furnishing system

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Details of the executive desk, its image updated through the use of Wenge wood as well as extruded aluminium profiling

Tschumi’s design for the executive office furnishings

Ignacio Dahl Rocha sketch for the executive office of Peter Brabeck-Letmathe

Richter Dahl Rocha custom-designed furnishings for Peter Brabeck-Letmathe’s office suite, inspired by Tschumi’s furnishings for Enrico Bignami’s office

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Communicating corporate culture

Original designs for signage and doorknobs, reproduced during the transformation

Computer-generated renderings proposing the basic elements of the display system

View of the main lobby after the Richter Dahl Rocha transformation, with an Ellsworth Kelly sculpture installed in front of the Chambord stairway

View and detail of the Nestlé corporate logo design as it was applied in the transformation

Detail of new engraved-glass logo panel installed in the main lobby

Clockwise: Study model for the new reception desk and the glass panel carrying the Nestlé logo; Philip Baldwin, Monica Guggisberg, and Paolo Ferro at work on the glass panel

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Nestlé WellNes Centre, Vevey, Switzerland, 2005–2008

The project for the new Nestlé restaurant was motivated by the company’s desire to replace its original restaurant facility, and to provide a “wellness” center that would be representative of the company’s vision and leading position in the nutrition industry. Located at the east end of the site En Bergère, the positioning of the new building is intended to preserve and extend the most imposing part of the park facing the lake. It also allows for all automobile circulation to be concentrated near the road. The program for the project includes a cafeteria with food preparation areas, a restaurant, a kitchen, and a fitness center. In relation to the Tschumi building, the new restaurant was given a circular shape that not only responds well to the curved facades of the

original headquarters building, but also creates optimum conditions for circulation and views. All tables are located at the outer perimeter of the restaurant, with views toward the park, the lake, and the Alps beyond. At the heart of the building, a wide double-spiral stairway echoes the Chambord stairway of Tschumi’s Nestlé building, providing access to the two levels of the restaurant as well as the fitness center below. Two stairways and an elevator complete the circulation scheme. The building’s structure is composed of a series of concrete pillars supporting concrete floor plates, and a wide metallic roof canopy protects the glass facade from weather and sun, opening to views of the surrounding landscape.

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Above, below right: Site plan and views of the model, showing the relationship of the Nestlé WellNes Centre to the existing Tschumi building, and details of the structure and canopy Below left: Sketch showing main space on the first floor, the food court

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Nestlé WellNes Centre

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Left: Outdoor terrace Right: Double-spiral stairway

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Nestlé WellNes Centre

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On the upper floor, the food court with its high ceiling and clerestory windows allows views to the vineyards, while the main dining space on the perimeter is bathed in daylight

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Above: Ceiling plan, showing the main structural elements, as 12 pillars on the perimeter transition to a ring beam and six pillars at the center Below: Transverse section

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Above: First-floor plan, with stairway arrival in the center, food court, and finishing kitchens to the north; all remaining surfaces are occupied by seating for 630 people Below: View of the model

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Seen from the lakeside in winter, the WellNes Centre is embraced by, and at the same time maintains its independence from Tschumi’s Nestlé building

AESTHETICS

Beauty Ignacio Dahl Rocha

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Between Beauty and Astonishment Here we embark on the presentation of our work in the context of a reflection on the notion of Beauty. We are well aware that both the word and its meaning have been devalued by contemporary architectural culture. In spite of this, or precisely because of it, we have sought to concern ourselves with this subject, which occupies an important place in our work and in our thinking about the work. In his essay “On Tact” published some years ago, Jorge Francisco Liernur wrote of it that “no other glue than that of the search for beauty articulates the complex set of levels of demand, desire, and meaning that go to form it.”1 Obviously, and this is what we wish to emphasise, architectural beauty is invoked here in its widest sense, and it is thus that we understand it. The quest for beauty refers not only to the domain of aesthetics, but also to the quest for the meaning of architecture as a cultural act. Liernur raised the issue of beauty in that sense, interpreting it on both the metaphysical and socio-ethical levels, and in the passage cited here, the word “glue” evokes the idea of the “binding agent of meaning.” Beauty also encompasses the ineffable, the mystery inherent in architectural creativity as with all of the arts. It includes all that of which, as Wittgenstein would say, we cannot “speak,” but which is, finally, that which is most important. Commenting on our work two years ago, I referred to beauty as “the ultimate, albeit secret reason that we do what we do,”2 while at the same time acknowledging the search for broader meaning and the intimate subjectivity of the ineffable which this search necessarily entails. On the same occasion, I summed up this metaphorical allusion to our work with a reference to architecture’s “vocation for service,” as the “first and most urgent reason” for our engagement with it.3 But what does it mean to say that beauty evokes the ultimate meaning of our work in a culture in which beauty itself has been devalued? Which beauty are we speaking of? And can we still speak of aesthetic ideals in this era of “the absolute and unstoppable polytheism of Beauty,”4 which Umberto Eco identified with the consumption and provocation? To which secular beliefs and fetishes do we resort in order to give meaning to our architecture? Between the Banal and the Rhetorical Our “aesthetic ideal,” the one which, like so many other architects, we have chosen to adopt, is nothing more than the one we inherited from the modern movement. Its essence might be defined as the search for architectural beauty in the act of construction itself. We also understand construction in its widest meaning, and not only from a technical point of view. In that sense, architectural beauty is inseparable from the social function and from construction, and it is here that the aesthetics that interest us appear strongly linked with the ethical dimension. The protagonists of the modern movement placed great emphasis on this ethical dimension in the social, functional, and technological meaning of the new architecture, but paradoxically, they did not explicitly recognise a conscious search for beauty: “It is our specific concern to liberate building activity [Bauerei] from aesthetic speculation and make building [Bauen] again what alone it should be, namely, BAUEN,” wrote Mies van der Rohe in 1923,5 though his work would reach the most sublime level of what we call the poetics of construction. For us, this paradox in itself has always possessed a mysterious aesthetic value. We know that what differentiates architecture from mere construction is the conscious addition of a wider meaning, which includes the aesthetic, and which transcends the technical and the functional. We also know that if this aesthetic will distance us from construction, architectural form tends to be emptied of its essential content. In that case we experience the malaise of the rhetorical, and our aesthetic intent may result in “embellishments in the worst sense of the word.”6 On the other hand, if we do not contribute a sufficient amount of aesthetic intent, we run the opposite risk, that is, the ghost of the banal appears: the building doesn’t manage to become Architecture.

Jorge Francisco Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza: consideraciones sobre la obra de Richter & Dahl Rocha,” 37, published as “On Tact,” in The Architecture of Richter & Dahl Rocha, trans. Inéz Zalduendo (Basel, Berlin, Boston: Birkhäuser, 2007). In the course of writing the texts for this book, in my re-reading of Liernur I returned to the original Spanish version; passages quoted here and elsewhere in this volume have been retranslated by Paul Hammond, with my emendations. 2 Ignacio Dahl Rocha, notes from an unpublished talk, BienalBA11, 2011, Buenos Aires, unpaged. 3 Dahl Rocha, notes from an unpublished talk. 4 On Beauty: History of a Western Idea, ed. Umberto Eco, trans. Alastair McEwen (London: Secker & Warburg, 2004), 428. 5 Mies van der Rohe, “Building,” G 2 (September 1923): 1, published in Fritz Neumeyer, The Artless Word: Mies van der Rohe on the Building Art, trans. Mark Jarzombek (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1991), 300. 1

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It is precisely between the banal and the rhetorical, in this space of precarious balance and of shifting boundaries, that we seek to develop our architectural language. The experience of “struggling” with those boundaries in search of our own balance is one of our most stimulating ethical and aesthetic motivations, because it entails exploring the very essence of architectural beauty. The interest in construction as a source of meaning, in addition to being a source of poetry in architecture, can also be read as a rejection of the tendency to formalist excesses in our times. The “silence” of construction, the objectivity of technics, as opposed to the arbitrariness of language, signals for many of us the illusion of a refuge amid the linguistic proliferation with which the avant-garde browbeats us today. It also possesses the lure of the impersonal, the non-autobiographical, as opposed to the cult of the individual genius. Although we know that this “silence” is impossible,7 since aesthetic intentionality obliges us to break it, we can express ourselves by “speaking” as little as possible, by remaining very close to construction as the essential component of architecture. The architecture that results from these preoccupations has, moreover, the great advantage of also keeping us on an intimate footing with our professional responsibilities, and therefore with the needs of those who inhabit our buildings. In Liernur’s essay, he warned us about the illusions of objectivity, truth, and authenticity that technics has provided to architectural form, referring to construction as “the most lasting form of solace”8 in the face of the inability of architectural form to be self-founding, as modernism requires it to be. Unlike Mies, we accept that a conscious aesthetic volition inhabits our work, but “we choose” to retain construction as a source of poetry. The paradox is not resolved, but rather transformed into a “game” that provides us with the necessary “meaning,” albeit partial and provisional. On the occasion of an exhibition of our work in Buenos Aires in 1997, we referred to this matter: “These games, where we push reason to its limits before surrendering to what Borges described as the ‘momentary faith that art demands of us’, are perhaps not in vain. It is possibly this obstinate searching that provides us with the justification and the provisional belief that we can share despite it all, and to continue creating and discussing architecture.”9 To call this aesthetic argument a “game” explicitly avoids granting a transcendent meaning to beauty (although it doesn’t mean that we are opposed to doing so), but it allows us to preserve beauty as an ultimate, secret meaning without having to be accountable. Contrary to the meaning Marina gives it, this game does not involve a devaluation of beauty, but rather a covert form of resistance to such devaluation. In any case, we know that preoccupation

IMD Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center Lausanne, Switzerland

See Henry-Russell Hitchcock, “The Decline of Architecture,” The Hound & Horn 1 (1927): 28-35 passim. See Jacques Richter and Ignacio Dahl Rocha, “The Impossible Silence,” Richter et Dahl Rocha Architectes 1990–1996, with texts by Jorge Francisco Liernur and Jacques Gubler, exh. cat., March 13–April 30, 1997, Centro de Estudios de Arquitectura Contemporánea, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella and Fundación Proa, Buenos Aires (Lausanne: Éditions RDR,1997), 107, with slight modifications to the English translation. 8 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 25. 9 Richter and Dahl Rocha, “The Impossible Silence,” 107. 6

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with the precariousness and instability of architectural language is an essential fact of modernism as it was lucidly articulated by architecture critics of the 1970s. But where are the protagonists of that lucid scepticism today? Who is able to counter the incessant formal verbiage and ingenuous optimism of the contemporary avant-garde? Has this problem been resolved or overcome? Or has it just been anesthetised? The Decline of the Poetics of Construction Notwithstanding the great diversity of languages explored by the full spectrum of avant-garde tendencies, they nevertheless share several motivations and features. These characteristics are the ones that give them their identity as “state-of-the-art” architecture and gradually distance them from the language of modernism. By way of comparison, this language, after evolving for almost a century and despite having resisted the onslaught of various “isms,” begins to take on a nostalgic cast and to question its own validity. The question of the direction and meaning of these linguistic novelties suggests that it is necessary to distinguish the legitimate innovations deriving from technological or programmatic changes from those that respond to the phenomena of fashion. The constitution of architectural languages is complex, and in order to understand it one must take a close look at both the social and technical evolution that brings about structural changes and the symbolisms that every culture produces over the course of time. Despite our mistrust of the fashion system, we have grasped the legitimacy of and thoroughly embraced many recent developments. For example, the prevalent phenomenon of skins to which we devote a section of this book: while they may be understood by some to be a matter of fashion, skins belong to the evolution of construction, technology, and – of global importance today – environmental concerns. Coming back to the current cultural context and its imbalances, on the basis of these reflections about our own body of work, we will float the hypothesis that the avant-garde no longer takes an interest in the metaphoric potential of construction, which throughout the history of architecture has been the referent. Construction is, in the best of cases, the means of giving material form to projects conceived using other strategies for generating meaning or symbolism. The new languages radicalise their abstract character, and no longer invoke the poetic expression inherent in the articulation of traditional constructional elements like beams, cornices, windows, louvers, and so forth. For contemporary aesthetics, these constructional elements tend toward figurative allusion, and thus get in the way. Architects attempt to conceal or disguise them behind the building envelope, which is clad in a skin, and to foreground instead the abstract and sculptural nature of the general volumetrics of the “object.” We use the term “object” here, and not building, given that this radical abstraction entails the loss of the quality of architectural “character” that historically identified the different types of “buildings” as such. The modern movement was traditionally associated with abstract art, but despite coining a new language, it retained a figurative quality in its allusions to the “machine aesthetic,” and above all, in its metaphorical allusion to construction. Today, faced with the loss of interest in construction as a source of symbolic meaning in architecture, we realise that perhaps this is

Liaison Space, Nestlé Headquarters, Vevey, Switzerland

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one of the undeclared but lasting attributes of the modern movement, the one that gave it that air of neutrality and indifference with respect to the unresolved problem of language which still seduces many of us. In any case, by reducing the dependency of construction on its technical, functional, and symbolic aspects, by anaesthetising any doubts about the capacity of language to convey meaning, and by reducing their interest in what they could learn from the history of architecture, the avant-garde clears the path in order to respond to their greatest obsession, the rapid succession of the new, so that they can perpetually surprise us with their formal inventions. The strategies of composition that give form to these buildings, converted into eye-catching sculptural objects, are literally infinite, arbitrary, and even not recognisable as strategies. The very notion of composition understood as a tool of conception and control of form and space undergoes an uncertain evolution, and it is difficult to evaluate the degree of awareness, mastery, and sensibility that these formalisms wield. These architectures make use of the extraordinary ability of the new technology to generate complex forms, but they get the means mixed-up with the end product. The result is an aesthetic in which there are always supposedly good reasons for the volumes to have waveform or at least non-orthogonal surfaces, loads must not express their gravitational descent, but give the impression of levitating, and above all, tribute must be paid to complexity in order to avoid going unnoticed by the specialised media. In this admirable deployment of formal exploration, the most skillful finally achieve an acceptable compromise between the technical and the functional in their projects, but the majority succumb to rhetorical formalisms. From the aesthetic point of view, these new languages are more concerned with astonishment than beauty. They are born of an aesthetic sensibility that registers only the conspicuous, the aggressive, the strident, the glaringly obvious, which has an insatiable need for shock and provocation, and which is losing the ability to appreciate with serenity and profundity the hidden meanings that architecture might veil and unveil. This aesthetic sensibility does not know the pleasure of moderation, nuance, and subtlety. The Aesthetics of Balance and Moderation With respect to these cultural tendencies, we would admit that our practice goes against the grain, as if resisting them in some way. Ours is a body of work marked more by reserve than grandiloquence; more dedicated to moderation and balance than provocation; more desirous of simplicity and silence than complexity and stridence. We appeal more to the timeless than to the ephemeral. We actively engage building in lieu of the elaboration of images. Finally, we are more concerned with beauty than novelty. This universe of balance, moderation, and subtlety does not prevent us from experiencing the thrill of creative work. On the contrary, we find it enormously stimulating. It represents a choice, a challenge, and in large measure, it frames the ethics of our aesthetics. In Liernur’s reading, this a granted positive value: “For those who are capable of resisting the demand for the spectacular that

Credit Suisse Lion d’Or Lausanne, Switzerland Flon Les Mercier Lausanne, Switzerland

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instant consumption demands, and who allow themselves to take the time needed to appreciate it, the work of Richter Dahl Rocha resonates intensely. But this intensity goes to work on the aesthetic senses as a sort of pianissimo (not a silence!) or a nearly inaudible whisper, contrary to the ‘shock’ and the provocative cry of the metropolitan Nervenleben. Only when we contemplate it attentively do we perceive the faint rustle that leads us to intuit the ontological difference between Architecture and construction.”10

Double-spiral stairway, Nestlé WellNes Centre Vevey, Switzerland

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Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 35.

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Sketch by Ignacio Dahl Rocha for Centre PasquART, Bienne, Switzerland

AESTHETICS

Portfolio

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IMD Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2005–2008

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This building’s main volume, which houses classrooms and meeting rooms intended for a variety of teaching programs, dominates the composition of the building and appears to float above the seemingly empty space of the ground floor, where the main entrance, a huge foyer, and an auditorium are placed. The resolution of constructional details on the edges of this volume, the composition of the metal panelling of the facade, and its articulation with the great opening of the rooms suggests the breaking down of the volume into planes that make the overall composition of the building seem lighter. This effect is heightened by the contrast

between the luminosity of the white satin finish of the facade panels and the opaque black enamelled glass band which suggests the far reaches of void space. On its south side, the building rests on a plinth of bush-hammered reinforced concrete. The volume is hollowed out by an atrium which communicates with and brings natural light into the three levels as well as an open courtyard on the uppermost level. Lacking the necessary static height inside, the metal beams on the roof enable the mezzanine floor to be suspended above the auditorium and to create areas of shade on the terrace opening off of that zone.

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IMD Nestlé Building, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2002–2006 This small building is unusual in the sense that, given the reduced size of the floor plan, its service core is external to the main volume. This gives rise to an architectural expression based on the simultaneous differentiation and integration of the two volumes. The larger of the two, which houses offices for research, is entirely glazed and protected from solar gain by a continuous surface of aluminium louvers which give it a simple and abstract appearance appropriate to its reduced size. The lightness, permeability, and reflective character of the louvers contrast with the opacity and solidity of the bare concrete facades of the service core.

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IMD Executive Learning Center, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1999–2002

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This building, the first conceived by RDR for the International Institute for Management Development, occupies the northernmost corner of the park-like IMD campus, a relatively small site in relation to the volume required by the program. Given this state of affairs, the building integrates itself into the setting through the two principal design strategies used to reduce the impact of its volume. The first consisted in having the building’s main body rest on two great concrete pilotis, the intention being to cause the ground floor to dissolve and to let the park landscape flow through it. The second strategy aimed to lessen the impact of the volume in the handling of the facades, which also dissolve into reflections of the sky and the trees, as well as reducing its apparent size through the abstract, scaleless nature of the simple pattern of horizontal lines.

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IMD New Meeting Place, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2002–2005 This project involved the extension of an old stables building on this former residential estate, and the transformation of an existing campus dining facility to create a space for relaxation on campus. Aspiring to a more “domestic” feel than the rest of the buildings on the site, it takes the form of a wooden pavilion in the midst of the parklike IMD campus. Playing their role in creating this effect are the wood and glass facades sheltered by wide eaves and the red brick taken from the existing building. In addition to lending the building character, the sequence of vertical wood louvers on the facades act as a filter, regulating the interplay between indoor and outdoor spaces. These louvers are conducive to a generous relation between the interior space and the park beyond; at the same time, from outside they behave as a curtain wall in which a huge opening extends the ground-floor dining hall in the direction of the terrace.

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Clinique La Prairie, Clarens-Montreux, Switzerland, 2001–2005

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The project gives a new lease on life to an ensemble of existing buildings by installing new guest rooms in one of them, and the remainder of the program – reception, treatment rooms, swimming pool, and restaurant – in a new, semisubterranean structure that reorganises the site in functional terms as well as with respect to the landscape. Inspired by the stone retaining walls typical of the region’s ancient landmarked vineyards, this new structure attempts to dissolve into the landscape by not competing as one more building, but rather functioning to make of the disparate elements of the complex a coherent whole. The walls of the building were faced with the discarded rough block-ends of green granite quarried in Andeer, in the canton of Graubünden, stacked and fixed in place with poured concrete between the granite and the inside wall made of ceramic blocks.

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Clinique La Source, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2007–2009

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The building for the “La Source” clinic and school crowns the view up the Avenue de Beaulieu in the center of Lausanne. The deteriorated condition of the outer facades of the complex necessitated their total renovation, and at the same time presented us with the opportunity to renew the image of this well-known institution. The proposed design, selected in the course of an invited competition, maintained the extant facades which play their role as thermal protection, and re-clad them in a continuous skin of translucent glass which gives a uniform appearance from outside while providing natural illumination through the existing windows. This solution

belongs to the tendency in contemporary architecture to forego the traditional expression of building components on facades in favour of the visual attraction of glazed skins. The skin is composed of serigraphed glass panels mounted on a horizontal framework. The matte-white serigraphy on the outer surfaces seeks to strike a balance between opacity and reflection in order to enliven the building but not to the point of clashing with the urban context. The new facade promotes the clinic by highlighting its institutional logo on a new wrapper, one that in turn transmits an image of technological renewal.

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Flon Les Mercier, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2006–2008 Located in the center of Lausanne, this new urban promenade was once a principal staging area for the provisioning of the city. The master plan sought to preserve the original urban structure of the historic warehouse quarter, which consisted of a series of blocks laid out on a regular grid served by a rail network. Today, the Flon quarter is entirely given over to pedestrians, and has become a significant focus of public life in the city. Within this unique quarter, buildings that were still viable have been renovated, while the structures that had fallen into decay have been replaced. The architectural concept for the new buildings sets out to accentuate the forcefulness of the original urban structure by reinforcing the simplicity of the volumes, which are planted resolutely and without transition on the pedestrian promenade. They also enliven the public space with their transparent skins, which provide a glimpse of the commercial activities within, their animated signage, and their lighting effects.

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EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation, Écublens, Switzerland, 2006–2011

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This new quarter of the EPFL campus was destined to provide office and laboratory space for companies that are working in conjunction with the school. In contrast to the character of the first phases of campus development in the late 1970s, focused on modular structures linked to an elevated pedestrian walkway, our interventions in the southern part of the campus proposed to rehabilitate the unbuilt natural terrain as a public space for circulation and as a setting for student life. Despite its relatively high density, the project reinforces that idea by distributing eight buildings in a natural landscape setting in such a way as to control the scale, spatial quality, and character of the interstitial public spaces. The buildings evoke an atmosphere

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appropriate to technological research in a convivial atmosphere and at a human scale. The utilisation of white enamelled glass, smooth or with a graphic motif on the inner face of the opaque surfaces, contributes to this. This white background heightens the green tinge typical of ordinary glass, which together with the natural landscaping elements foster a uniquely chromatic effect. Two of the buildings designed for this quarter were intended to house laboratories. They establish border at the western edge of the ensemble, and are distinguished from the rest by their facades, which combine bare concrete with details in anodised natural aluminium in the openings and the technical attics.

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Bobst Headquarters, Mex, Switzerland, 2008–2012 This project for organising and extending an industrial headquarters complex situated in the countryside of the canton of Vaud attempts to explore the richness of the relationship between the complex itself and the rural landscape. One side of the long main building houses a huge showroom for machinery, and the other, a patio around which are laid out office and training spaces. Extending into the countryside, the building’s horizontal proportions are reinforced by the straight line of the eaves, in contrast to the undulating character of the natural topography of the site. The ubiquitous landscape of cultivated fields lends a golden tinge to the stainless-steel facades, or is cut away in the clearing of the patio.

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Bobst Headquarters

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CFF Train Maintenance Center, Geneva, Switzerland, 1995–1999

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Located in the middle of the railroad sidings of the Geneva station, this maintenance facility consists of a 300-metre-long metal structure covering the railroad tracks that pass through it. The architectural expression adopts and develops the classic tripartite composition of base, main body, and crown by utilising the basic elements of industrial construction. The envelope of the main body is clad on the outside with a band of oversized shingles of local pine, which over time have acquired a patina from exposure to the oxide dust emitted by braking trains.

A glazed horizontal slit positioned just at eye-level separates it from a continuous plinth of reinforced concrete which reveals the rhythm of the structure by integrating the base of the pillars visible through the glass panes. The dark, rough surface of the shingles contrasts with the gleam of the continuous aluminium eaves that protect and visually emphasise it, while above these, the side walls of the skylights also gleam as a crowning motif.

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Quartier des Uttins, Rolle, Switzerland, 2000–2007

p.208

The four residential buildings and three office buildings of this quarter benefit from a privileged natural setting and are organised around two green public spaces. The apartments capitalise on this situation with their generous balconies and terraces. The palette of facade materials contributing to the residential character of the buildings includes bare concrete decking, prefabricated elements of white concrete with Carrara marble aggregate, and red brick. The proportion of these materials

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and the way they are combined varies from building to building, determining the character of the different parts of the complex. Toward the street, brick walls perforated by windows and framed with prefabricated elements predominate. The facades fronting onto the park-like landscape create an intense rapport between these apartments and the privileged natural context through generous terraces that also emphasise the horizontality of their composition.

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La Verrière, Montreux, Switzerland, 2001–2005 Situated strategically in the center of Montreux, overlooking the lake, but disadvantaged by its proximity to the railway tracks on one side and the imposing presence of Le Montreux Palace hotel on the other, the project attempts to compensate for the situation by seeking a strong identity of its own, assuming an urban character, and exploring new forms of spatial organisation for the apartments. The generous spaces and ceiling heights of apartments developed in recycled industrial buildings inspired the two new buildings for this complex. Predominant in their architectural expression are the construction details of anodised natural aluminium and the anthracite-coloured brick walls that lend an industrial atmosphere to the whole ensemble, while at the same time referring to the mansard roof of the old hotel.

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La Verrière

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La Verrière

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L’Îlot-du-Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2006–2011

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The design for this residential complex situated a few steps from Place SaintFrançois in the center of Lausanne had as its main theme the challenge of striking a balance between the contemporary apartment model and its integration within the historical context in terms of both urban morphology and architectural language. The main building evokes the functionalist paradigm of the mega barre building, and is at the same time assimilated into the contiguous order of the urban fabric, making a gesture toward public space at its free end. Uncommon in this situation, a series of townhouses with gardens also helps to integrate the complex: located on

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the lower levels of the barre, they put the level change on the site to good use. The contemporary language of facades consisting of precast concrete components and aluminium louvers and balustrades is inflected by being expressed toward the south as generous balconies with views of the lake, and also as an urban facade responding to the character of the street. Reinforcing this integration is the punctuation of the facade by entrances and stairwells which evoke the rhythm and scale of the neighbouring buildings, referencing the tradition and materials of the mansard roofs.

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Route de Berne 46, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2001–2005 In this office building, with its main facade open to a punishing western exposure, the solar protection systems have pride of place in terms of the expression. Adjustable vertical louvers of aluminium and glass are operated in sets by the occupants of each office module, which guarantees permanent variation and animation in the expression of the facade, by night as well as by day. The plane of this facade is outlined by an aluminium frame and rests on a portico of reinforced concrete pillars which give access to the building.

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Vennes 3, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2007–2009 This administrative and IT center for Crédit Agricole completes the bank’s site on the outskirts of Lausanne, partaking of the same range of materials as the building at Route de Berne 46, and likewise exploiting the theme of solar protection in the expression of the building. In this instance, the brise-soleil consists of vertical glass louvers which are partly serigraphed to protect the work spaces from direct sun exposure while still providing balanced natural lighting and views. The louvers appear as continuous bands on each floor and are enhanced by the dark panelling of the parapet and a slender cornice which runs along the entire floor and is transformed into a horizontal brise-soleil on the south facade.

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Credit Suisse Lion d’Or, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2001–2006

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Over the course of successive transformations, the main lobby of the Credit Suisse bank in Lausanne had lost its vaulted false ceiling and its original ornamentation. The ceiling had been replaced by a flat one to gain height. Our project advocated a new form of ceiling that would evoke the original vaulting, following the curve of the arched windows on one side and progressively flattening out to meet the ceiling plane of the mezzanine. Fabricated from acoustic panels of moulded plaster, the form invokes the plastic concept of a “rigid awning” and conjures an ambiguity between the apparent softness of its form and the rigidity of its material nature.

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Forest Refuge, Vallée de Joux, Switzerland, 1991–1996

p.229

This prototype was conceived as a wilderness shelter for the hikers in Le Grand Risoux forest in the Jura mountains. The small, rustic structure of about 25 square metres is furnished with only a table and a wood-burning stove. The initial brief proposed the development of a constructive principle allowing forest rangers to prefabricate various elements during the winter months, so that they could be assembled in the spring. Resting lightly on eight concrete piers, the shelter, which is built entirely of fir, the traditional material of the region, hovers just above the uneven ground

plane of the wilderness site. Starting from the primitive hut type and preserving its basic elements, the project was generated by applying a series of geometrical transformations: the corners are unblocked and the wall slides out adhering to the strategy of the modern plan; the rotation created is followed by a shift of the roof system, while the eaves articulate the two geometries. The result is a curiously organic volume in tune with the landscape.

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Im Forster “Le Garage”, Zürich, Switzerland, 2007–2011 This work belongs to a residential ensemble recently constructed on a magnificent park-like site overlooking the lake of Zürich. The small building known as “Le Garage” comprises three apartments with independent entrances, the idea being to preserve the character of the detached single-family house which predominates in the Zürichberg quarter. Given the intent for the building to integrate harmoniously into its context, the facade material selected is a walling system of stucco applied onto lightweight insulation, a system often used in colder climates given its considerable energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Moreover, it possesses the virtue of preserving the character of traditional architectural forms, in this case masonry walls.

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Chemin du Liseron, Lausanne-Ouchy, Switzerland, 2007–2009

123

These urban townhouses are situated in the center of a formerly empty city block beneath which passes the new M2 Metro tunnel. Notwithstanding their urban location, each house has its own ground-floor entrance through a patio, with a small yard and a garden on the opposite side. Clad in seasoned wood with energy-efficient facades, the building echoes the domestic character of a residential neighbourhood. The flat roof and its eaves, their aluminium trim protecting the wood cladding, completes the expression of the building.

124

Villa Bosquets, Pully, Switzerland, 2010–2012 This simple home occupies an awkward triangular parcel with a strong diagonal slope. The nearly rectangular volume reveals three storeys on the southeast corner while presenting a single storey from the north. The main living spaces were kept on the upper floor in order to take advantage of the sweeping views toward the lake and the opening onto the terrace and garden behind. The mandatory pitched roof not only allowed for additional ceiling height in the main living spaces, but also provided large eaves which emphasise the horizontal finish of the volume, as well as shade and protection for the wooden windows below.

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Casa José Ignacio, Rocha, Uruguay, 2008–2009

p.224

This house harmonises with the wildness of the maritime landscape of José Ignacio through its intense formal austerity and the use of local stone for the masonry walls. On these, echoing the seaward horizon, rests an extended flat green roof enhanced by the luminosity of the white stucco. Whereas this roof shelters all the living spaces below, for the master bedroom above, it becomes a private terrace garden. Introverted in character, the massiveness of the entrance facade contrasts with the permeable, open composition of the main floor, which proffers a rich variety of spaces where inside and outside overlap and spectacular views of the sea unfold.

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Casa La Hilaria, Punta del Este, Uruguay, 2007

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In this vacation house the simplicity of the stuccoed walls points up the omnipresence of the maritime pines surrounding it. The rusticity of the natural stone floors and the Lapacho wood used to frame the apertures and furnishings complete the palette of materials. The sculptural expression of the volume is achieved through the contrast between the public functions as voids and the closed character of the private spaces. Playing its part in this is the floating flat roof, which in this instance is embedded in the solid, jutting out like a great cantilever over much of the terrace. The facing of stucco, smooth and abstract, enables the two distinct elements to merge into one language.

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Casa La Hilaria

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135

CONSTRUCTION

From Tectonics to Skins Ignacio Dahl Rocha

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Construction and the Language of Architecture Our intent here is to emphasise and illustrate the theme of the relationship between construction and the language of architecture. We have remained particularly alert to this relationship as an argument about architectural meaning in general, and as aesthetic expression in particular. If we have insisted on seeking beauty in the very act of building, this is not to say that we believe there is a causal relationship between construction and architectural language. We realise the language of architecture does not derive directly from a technical or functional logic. Rather, the relationship between construction and architectural language is of a metaphorical nature. Aesthetic intent establishes symbolic relations with construction, and may either coincide with functional and technical logics or depart from them. What it cannot do is ignore the dialogue. Ignoring the dialogue with construction means voiding architectural form of its essential content, and leads to what we call rhetoric or formalism. In the intensity of this dialogue resides the consistency of the work, and in its metaphorical nature, the potential for beauty. The “Dematerialisation” of Construction What Kenneth Frampton has described as the “dematerialisation” of architecture is a process construction has been undergoing since the end of the eighteenth century.1 As architecture has evolved from traditional or monolithic systems, this process has manifested itself in the ever-increasing number and lightness of the components of the construction system. During the last few decades, in Switzerland as well as in the rest of the industrialised world, we have experienced an acceleration of this process fuelled by technological progress. This includes advances in glass technology, its structural use, and the notable improvement of its thermal performance as a constituent element of the building envelope. Other recent technological developments in the domain of construction that relate to our theme are the diversity, quality, resistance, and lightness of thermal insulation materials and facade claddings offered by the building industry, including the evolution of adhesives that are replacing mechanical connections as the last vestiges of a figurative aesthetic. It is also important to note advances in digital technology and robotics which are facilitating the design and manufacture of nonstandard components and reducing their cost. These developments lessen the obvious economic advantages of the standardisation of parts that belongs to a prefabricated building system, and permit us to envision the industrialisation of a system involving a multiplicity of parts, all of which could be different. The same developments facilitate the design and construction of complex forms, and in this sense have broken new ground in terms of architectural expression. Their secondary effects, as we have said, include abuses deriving from this potential, abuses which in many instances seek to justify architectures that make a fetish of complexity.

CFF Train Maintenance Center Geneva, Switzerland

1

Kenneth Frampton, Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1995).

139

The Aesthetics of Sustainable Development A significant force in the evolution of modes of construction is technical requirements related to the increasing demand for thermal insulation in the name of sustainable development. In order to adapt to these new demands, buildings are mutating, developing thick insulating wrappers whose outer layers are true skins that conceal from view constructional elements that previously determined the architectural language of the facade and now assume a leading role in the expression of the building. To this is added the fact that various lightweight thermal insulation materials have substantially increased in depth, and as a result, facade cladding moves away from the load-bearing structure and must be made lighter to facilitate their fastening. Heavier revetment materials, like brick or prefabricated reinforced concrete components, are less appropriate for this reason. Because they consume more material and are installed on the outside of the insulation, their weight does not even have a positive effect on the thermal inertia of the building. This new language renounces the modernist paradigm of “the facade as section.” The new envelope does not reveal or necessarily express, either literally or metaphorically, the structural and constructional concept it conceals. The aesthetic of buildings thus tends to become a question of skins, that is to say, the main problem is how to clothe the building. In this case, what dominates the architectural expression is a logic of design involving superficial textures instead of the traditional expression of the tectonic. There is a weakening of the traditional idea of an architectural composition based on the proportion and formal articulation of building components. Instead, what is emphasised are the “textile” qualities of weaves, patterns, colours, transparencies, and reflections which the new technology makes possible, and for which the building industry develops a range of products. As we have mentioned, these new languages are characterised by the search for radical abstract expression, and so any constructional element may turn into a dissonant figurative allusion. As with works of art, this formal abstraction is offset by a revalorisation of the expressive nature of the materials, although in the case of architecture, this is reduced to a matter of cosmetics. In effect, the vast repertoire of these skins, their endless variety and infinite subtlety constitutes the means of architectural expression, making possible a richness and effectiveness in terms of visual communication which is without precedent in the history of architecture. Important in this regard are serigraphy and other techniques for printing graphic motifs associated with glass technology, which have made significant contributions to the aesthetic development of building skins. If Venturi, Izenour, and Scott Brown invited us to learn from pop culture how much more effective were advertisements than buildings at communicating in the urban realm, today the skins that sheathe buildings allow them to take the lead once again. The Facade Studies following this essay illustrate our understanding of the relationship between construction and architectural language. The aim of the synoptic table is to foreground various aspects of this relationship, bringing together the greater part of the works presented in this section, organised by facade type in relation to what we call the constructive and formal orders in the dematerialisation process mentioned above. For us, the study of facade details at the scales utilised here represents a key moment in the design process, in which the abstraction of the formal composition and its material and constructional meaning are clearly articulated.

Left: Casa José Ignacio, Rocha, Uruguay Right: L’Îlot-du-Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland

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Monolithic Systems Two of the houses presented in the Portfolio represent monolithic building systems characterised by the expression of the most primitive type of facade: walls perforated by windows. Both examples combine this system with the paradigm of the modern flat roof. In Casa José Ignacio (2008–09) in Rocha, Uruguay, the architectural expression is one with the construction system, with the flat roof emerging as an isolated feature resting on stone walls. In the case of Casa La Hilaria (2007), in Punta del Este, also in Uruguay, the flat roof that cantilevers off to one side terminates on the other side, where it merges with the language of wall and window. The two construction and formal systems come together with a sculptural purpose, dissolving into a single language, with the homogeneity of the stuccoed wall surfaces playing its crucial role as a unifying element. Belonging to the same family is Avenue de Béthusy (2007–09) in Lausanne, an apartment building that also utilises stucco as an uninterrupted form of facing, except that in this instance, it is applied directly over a thick layer of lightweight insulation material. Due to its economy and efficiency, this system is widely used in cold climates. Moreover, it has the potential to give the illusion of preserving traditional architectural expression, as if genuine masonry walls were involved. As far as aesthetic expression is concerned, the distribution of “solids” and “voids” on the facade is fundamental. This expression coincides with the constructional logic, except in the detailing of the windows, which reinforce the idea of the thickness of the wall and subtly intervene in the composition. Articulated Facades In the examples of the next category, the uninterrupted surfaces give way to building envelopes that are articulated with different types of facade panelling. Their architectural language, inherited from the modern movement, invokes construction systems consisting of an independent structure infilled with non-loadbearing elements in the shape of continuous windows with or without sills, or a succession of windows and opaque panels, and is formally characterised by horizontal bands. In reality, in many cases, the facades are loadbearing walls of reinforced concrete clad with a layer of continuous lightweight insulation. Their language metaphorically alludes to a construction system even though it does not completely coincide with the way they are built. For example, with L’Îlot-duCentre (2006–11) in Lausanne, La Verrière (2001–05) in Montreux, and the student housing complex for the EPFL Quartier Nord (2008–13) in Écublens, banded cladding expresses the slabs of the mezzanine floors, although insulation may be installed between them. With the buildings that comprise the EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation (2006–11), also in Écublens, the main issue is not the expression of floor slabs, but the expression of the “fenêtre en longeur” type, and to reinforce its presence within the composition, the parapet appears as a great joint. The effect of lightness, conveyed through the banded composition, is maintained by the varied serigraphic treatment of the glass panes. For the facades of the buildings that comprise the UBS Rhône block (2010–15) in Geneva, in search of a language that would harmonise with the traditional urban context, we proposed a reinterpretation of the traditional post and lintel system. In light of our reflections on current tendencies, the Nestlé WellNes Centre (2005–08) in Vevey stands out as a particular case in which the structure is the main protagonist of the building’s expression, and establishes a relation with the magnificent concrete pilotis of Jean Tschumi’s mid-century building. These in turn draw their inspiration from “brutalist” architecture, whose language was strongly inspired by construction. In this instance, constructional logic and aesthetic volition are blurred in a single expression.

Nestlé WellNes Centre Vevey, Switzerland

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Solar Protection as Architectural Expression As is often the case in contemporary architecture, whenever an abstract language is being sought, there is a tendency to repress certain building elements. In the case of Route de Berne 46 (2001–05) or the IMD Nestlé Building (2002–06), both in Lausanne, it is precisely the opposite. Like so many other modern buildings, solar protection elements turn out to be fundamental to the architectural expression. With the IMD Nestlé Building, in order to arrive at a simple abstract language, instead of avoiding louvers altogether, as we did with Flon Les Mercier (2006–08) in the center of Lausanne, the facade was composed almost exclusively of a standard system of louvers, in which they become the main aesthetic element. Eaves provide other options for protecting facades and have played an essential role in the composition of many of our buildings, like the IMD New Meeting Place (2002–05) in Lausanne, and the restaurant for the Bobst Headquarters (2010–12) in Mex. Skins Taken together, skins represent dematerialisation in its most developed form, and belong to a formal strategy, as we have already intimated, which instead of emphasising the aesthetic expression of the building components, adopts the expressive capacity of the surface as its main protagonist. In each instance, different reasons have led us to choose this type of solution. With the facades we designed for SICPA Chavornay (2010–14) or the SwissTech Convention Center in the EPFL Quartier Nord (2008–13), in keeping with the constructional logic of the buildings, the skins appear to be revetments of the opaque surfaces. In the case of Clinique La Source (2007–09) in Lausanne, in order to emphasise its horizontal proportions, the new skin permits the structure supporting it to be revealed. On the other hand, by virtue of its transparency, the existing windows can be concealed, thus guaranteeing its abstract character without impeding the passage of natural light. With Flon Les Mercier, a curtain wall that seeks to look like a skin provides a response to the aesthetic ambition of maximum simplicity and abstraction of the volumes of these buildings. To that end, we serigraphed the glass panels, whose graphic motif blends in with their construction joints. The serigraphy plays its part in minimising solar gain, thus avoiding the use of louvers on the exterior facade, which would have interfered with the aesthetic result we intended.

Clinique La Source Lausanne, Switzerland

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Constructive and Formal Orders

Casa La Hilaria

Avenue de Béthusy

UBS Rhône

L’Îlot-du-Centre

This synoptic analysis is intended to reveal relationships between construction methods and the architectural language of facades. The details are grouped by types according to what we have called the “constructive” and “formal” orders, stemming from the dematerialisation process discussed in the foregoing text. Casa José Ignacio

CONSTRUCTIVE ORDER

Route de Berne 46 / East

IMD Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center

MONOLITHIC

EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation

INFILL

STRUCTURE LOAD-BEARI NG WAL Ls

Masonry

Concrete

Concrete

H YBRID: WAL L S + CO LUMNS

Concrete

Concrete

D ETACHED COLUM NS

Concrete

Concrete

Concrete

Steel

ENVELOPE OPAQUE AREAS

Render

Stone

Render

Concrete

Concrete

Steel

Concrete

Glass

WINDOWS FR AM ES

Wood

Aluminium

PVC

Aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium

PVC / Alu

Aluminium

Wood

Aluminium

Aluminium

Fabric

C URTAIN WAL L

SOLAR PROTECTION VERTICAL BRISE-SOLEILS H ORIZONTAL LouverS

Aluminium Fabric

MOBILE L ou verS OR SHADES

Aluminium Aluminium

A PPLIED

FORMAL O RDER

SINGLE OPENINGS

WINDOWS

ARTICULATED

STRIP WINDOWS

HORIZONTAL BANDS

Post and lintel

HORIZONTAL BANDS

143

La Verrière

Vennes 3

EPFL Quartier Nord, Student Housing

IMD New Meeting Place

Nestlé WellNes Centre

IMD Nestlé Building

Route de Berne 46 / West

Flon Les Mercier

CURTAIN WALL

Concrete

Concrete

Concrete

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center

Concrete

CLADDING

Concrete

Concrete

Steel

Steel

Steel

Steel

Steel

Steel

Concrete

Concrete

Glass

Glass

Glass

Wood

Aluminium

Fibre Cement

Aluminium

Brick

Aluminium

PVC / Alu

Aluminium

Wood

Aluminium

Steel

Aluminium

Glass

Aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium

Serigraphy

Serigraphy

Aluminium Aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium Fabric

STRUCTURE

EXPOSED STRUCTURE

SICPA Chavornay

Steel

Brick

Aluminium

CFF Train Maintenance Center

GLAZING

Concrete Concrete

Clinique La Source

SOLAR PROTECTION

SOLAR PROTECTION

Serigraphy

SKINS

RETICULATED SKINS

Serigraphy

CONSTRUCTION

Facade Studies Kenneth Ross

Avenue de Béthusy, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2007–2009

146

1 building, 21 apartments

coping: folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish

14.61

262

35

railing: steel, powder-coat finish 227

222

render: acrylic, coloured

26

114

thermal insulation: 180 mm extruded polystyrene

79

12 10 3 9 19

35

render: acrylic, coloured coping: folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish

26

114

thermal insulation: 180 mm extruded polystyrene

79

12 10 3 9 19

14.61

external window sill: folded aluminium sheeting, powder-coat finish

5

attique 11.20

22

33

11

227

222

262

railing: steel, powder-coat finish

55

87

external window sill: folded aluminium sheeting, powder-coat finish

attique 11.20

33

262

22

132

87

140

11

5

solar protection: horizontal louvers aluminium, powder-coat finish

55

window frames: PVC, aluminium, double glazing

262

132 117

window frames: PVC, aluminium, double glazing

75

140

solar protection: horizontal louvers aluminium, powder-coat finish

117

75

16

22

33

11

niv 1 2.75

door frame: aluminium, double glazing, extruded aluminium cladding, powder-coat finish

242

16

2265

2265

22

33

11

niv 1 2.75

242

33

105

2265

niv 0 0.00

22

2265

door frame: aluminium, double glazing, extruded aluminium cladding, powder-coat finish

1:50 1m

1:50 0.2

1m

niv 0 0.00

33

22

105

0.2

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1:500 2

This building occupies a long, narrow parcel fronting onto one of the main east-west avenues running through Lausanne. A variety of apartments occupy the upper floors, with the ground floor reserved for commercial spaces. The ever-increasing requirements of thermal insulation performance, coupled with the need to minimise investment costs strongly suggested the use of a mineral acrylic rendering applied

10 m

directly onto the insulation. This allowed for a single unified surface covering the whole volume, and hence the windows, in their size and positioning, recovered a nearly traditional significance in the expression of the building’s elevations. In that spirit, the windows facing Avenue de Béthusy were accented with painted metal frames.

147

UBS Rhône, Geneva, Switzerland, 2010–2015

100

100

50

50

50

prefabricated concrete prefabricated concrete elements elements thermal insulation thermal insulation

50

New building, renovation and transformation of 4 historic buildings with commercial spaces at street level and flexible office spaces on the upper floors

5

attique 24.55 attique 24.55

266

266

window frames: aluminium, window frames: aluminium, anodised finish, triple glazing anodised finish, triple glazing

401

401 5

5

401

401 5

5

25

25

27

27

33

5

33

laminated glass laminated glass

niv 6 21.22 niv 6 21.22

50 50

27 27 25

25

50

50

15

15

prefabricated concrete prefabricated concrete elements elements thermal insulation thermal insulation solar protection: textile screen solar protection: textile screen

283

283

283

283

283

283

prefabricated concrete prefabricated concrete elements elements

41 41

26

4.33 4.33

pillar: reinforced concrete pillar: reinforced concrete

floor covering: granite, floor screed covering: granite, cement cement screed

30

30

18

18

12

12

0.00 0.00

1:50 1:50

0.2 0.2

1m 1m

56 56 362

362

362

362

362

21

21

56

56

35

35

15

15

41 41

prefabricated concrete prefabricated concrete elements elements

26

window frames: aluminium, window frames: aluminium, anodised finish, triple glazing anodised finish, triple glazing

362

148

149

p.282

1:750

1:750

This new building is a part of a much larger project that includes the renovation of half a city block as well as the historic Passage des Lions. The vast majority of the surfaces are dedicated to office space, while the ground and first floors are reserved for commercial purposes. The new floors, spanning the whole length of the streetfront behind the renovated elevation, as well as the new facade are highly flexible surfaces with offices opening onto the street as well as the inner courtyard above the Passage.

2

10 m

2 10 m Respecting the basic module governing the existing facade as well as its floor heights, and to maximise flexibility and allow for a seamless integration, the new facade was developed in modular precast concrete elements. The inner layer of concrete fulfills the load-bearing function, thermal insulation and windows are contained in the middle, and an external layer of concrete of varying depths and finishes recomposes the trabeated, post-and-lintel expression of the composition.

UBS Rhône

150

detail attic floor 242 765

8

1255

9

8

75

15

20

305

45

18

25

20

20

1

75

70

55

10

55

211

70

60

292

prefabricated concrete elements, acid finish detail attic floor

window frames: aluminium, anodised finish, double glazing

thermal insulation

aluminium panel anodised finish

242

reinforced concrete wall 200 mm 75 8

765

aluminium frame anodised finish 1255

9

8

window jamb, solid wood

75

solar protection: textile screen

laminated glass

25

20

detail plan standard floors

20

1

interior plaster finish 10 mm

202

45

18

160 75

75

75

187

1

15

20

305

160

55

10

55

211 285

20

70

60

292

10

59

18

49

70

10

window frames: aluminium, anodised finish, double glazing

5

thermal insulation

aluminium panel anodised finish

5

20

10

prefabricated concrete elements, acid finish

reinforced concrete wall 200 mm 5

10

25

70

90

25

10

aluminium frame anodised finish

window jamb, solid wood

laminated glass

solar protection: textile screen

177

interior plaster finish 10 mm

292

25

10

detail plan standard floors prefabricated concrete element, acid finish 160 75

solar protection: textile screen window frames: aluminium, anodised finish, double glazing

202

thermal insulation

75

75

187

reinforced concrete wall 200 mm

aluminium frame anodised finish

interior plaster finish 10 mm

window jamb, solid wood

285

20

1

160

10 10

5

5

5

20

10

59

50 cm

10

18

49

1:25

10

25

70

90

25

10

177

10

25

292

1:25 10

50 cm

prefabricated concrete element, acid finish

solar protection: textile screen

thermal insulation

window frames: aluminium, anodised finish, double glazing

reinforced concrete wall 200 mm

aluminium frame anodised finish

interior plaster finish 10 mm

window jamb, solid wood

151

p.282

1:200 1

5m

L’Îlot-du-Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2006–2011

152

30 24

36

24

4

235

65

365

135

65 5 23565 13 235 135 30 30 24 24 24 24

6 1 2

241

231

241 241 241 241

45 45

fascia: fascia:titanium zinc sheeting folded folded titanium zinc sheeting horizontal louvers: horizontal louvers: aluminium, aluminium, finish powder-coat powder-coat finish

36

45

14.40 14.40

horizontal louvers: aluminium, powder-coat finish

24 4 7 1

14.40

fascia: folded titanium zinc sheeting

24 4 7 1 24 4 7 1 36 36

4075 4075

100 100

4075

100

231 231

241

1

1

1

35

05

36 4 36 4

6 1 35 065 1 2 35 05 2

365 365

4 buildings, 139 apartments

241

232

241 241 245 245

47 1 20 4

32

6 46

925 925

11.60

prefabricated concrete elements

5

2

2

handrail: handrail: steel, powder-coat finish steel, powder-coat finish

925

232 232

2

handrail: steel, powder-coat finish

window frames: PVC, window frames: aluminium, doublePVC, glazing aluminium, double glazing

245

window frames: PVC, aluminium, double glazing

6

sliding shutters: aluminium, anodised finish

sliding shutters: sliding shutters: aluminium, aluminium, anodised finish anodised finish

254

244

250

4

4

46 46

47 1 204 7 1 5 20 5 32 32

11.60 11.60

6

prefabricated concrete prefabricated concrete elements elements

244 244

250 250 254 254

window frames: PVC, aluminium

4

24

46

36

7

3

2

29.45

window frames: PVC, window frames: PVC, aluminium aluminium curtain rail support masking ventilation intake

253

249

4

244

4

46 46

3 24 37 2 24 7 2 36 36

29.45 29.45

curtain rail support masking curtain railintake support masking ventilation ventilation intake

1:50

1:50 1:50

0.2 0.2

1m 1m

36 36

10 10 39 39

30 2 30 2

24 24

5

0.00 0.00

1m

5

0.2

5 39

10 24

249 249 253 253

30

2

36

244 244

0.00

p.108

p.204

153

p.218

1:500 2

This housing ensemble is located in the center of Lausanne. The main barre building presents a 100-metre-long facade with living rooms opening southward to the sun and panoramic views, while bedrooms open onto the rue Beau-Séjour. Below, three smaller buildings are arranged in the detached manner of neighbouring structures. The traditional construction that characterises the surrounding urban context suggested a mineral finish on the elevations of the buildings. Various prefabricated concrete panels were developed, and apart from the large glazed windows of the

10 m

living rooms giving onto deep balconies on the southern elevations, all apertures were given the more vertical proportions of the windows of neighbouring buildings, but with a full floor-to-ceiling height. Sliding aluminium panels provide the necessary shade, while contributing to the liveliness of the varied facades. The attic floors, recessed on all sides in conformance with planning regulations, were clad in titanium zinc, in keeping with the traditional finish of many of the city’s roofs.

EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation, écublens, Switzerland, 2006–2011

17.28 17.28

85 85

1235 1235

30 30

thermal insulation: thermal insulation: 2020 cmcm extruded polystyrene extruded polystyrene

123 123

15 11 15 11

3 3

cladding: serigraphed glass, cladding: serigraphed glass, fullfull coverage coverage

5 5

8 research and laboratory buildings, public spaces, and two parking lots

solar protection: horizontal louvers, solar protection: horizontal louvers, aluminium, powder-coat finish aluminium, powder-coat finish

window frames: aluminium, window frames: aluminium, powder-coat finish, double glazing powder-coat finish, double glazing

2865 2865

1725 1725

170 5 170 5

column: reinforced concrete column: reinforced concrete

13.77 13.77

thermal insulation: thermal insulation: 2020 cmcm extruded polystyrene extruded polystyrene

105 5 105 5

9 9

3.57 3.57

6 6

565 565

64 64

8 8

2865 2865

85 85

104 104

30 30

9 9

cladding: serigraphed glass, cladding: serigraphed glass, fullfull coverage coverage

6 6

565 565

cladding: serigraphed glass, cladding: serigraphed glass, fullfull coverage coverage

64 64

55 55

cladding: serigraphed glass, cladding: serigraphed glass, partial coverage partial coverage

85 85

104 104

108 108

30 30

bracket: steel bracket: steel

solar protection: horizontal louvers, solar protection: horizontal louvers, aluminium, powder-coat finish aluminium, powder-coat finish

3035 3035

177 177

window frames: aluminium, window frames: aluminium, powder-coat finish, double glazing powder-coat finish, double glazing

284 284

cladding: serigraphed glass, cladding: serigraphed glass, partial coverage partial coverage

thermal insulation: thermal insulation: 2020 cmcm extruded polystyrene extruded polystyrene

30 30

8 9 8 9

0.00 0.00

6 6

86 86

154

1:50 1:50 0.20.2

1m 1m

p.86

p.262

p.316

155

p.317

1:500 2

This ensemble of buildings sited at the southwestern corner of the campus completes the Parc Scientific EPFL (PSE). The layout of the buildings was developed to allow for maximum flexibility, some of them being occupied entirely by a single organisation, while others are shared by two or three different entities per floor. Six of the buildings accommodate traditional office spaces and two contain laboratories. The administrative buildings are wrapped in bands of rational strip windows, with the windows of corner offices positioned on only one side. The choice of sides in

10 m

deploying these corner office windows, from one floor to another, becomes the articulating element generating subtle variation among the individual buildings, whose facades are clad in enamelled glass. The panels completing the perimeters at window-height are serigraphed using a technologically inspired graphic motif specifically developed for this project. The subtle green and white hues of the glass enhance the relationship between the buildings and their landscaped context.

EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation

156

section sectiondetail detail

AA

185 185

6 6

235 235

5 5

185 185

76 76

105 105

AA

30 30

45 45

9 9

8585

BB 49 49

BB

3 3

205 205

205 205

185 185

185 185

95 95

CC

8585 170 170

55 171 171

55 184 184

2 2

335 335

17 17

9 9

9 9

95 95

CC

55 72 72

184 184

1:20 1:20 10 10

50 50cm cm

p.86

p.262

p.316

p.317

157

La Verrière, Montreux, Switzerland, 2001–2005 25.12 25.12

337 337

337

260

260

horizontal louvers: horizontal louvers: folded aluminium, folded aluminium, horizontal louvers: powder-coat finish powder-coat finish folded aluminium, window frames: window frames: powder-coat finish aluminium, aluminium, window frames: anodised finish, anodised finish, aluminium, double glazing double glazing anodised finish, double glazing

260

19

6

19

roofing: roofing: folded zinc sheeting, folded zinc sheeting, roofing:substructure, timber timber substructure, folded zinc sheeting,160 mm thermal insulation: thermal insulation: 160 mm timber substructure, mineral wool mineral wool thermal insulation: 160 mm slab: 260 mm reinforced concrete slab: 260 mm reinforced concrete mineral wool slab: 260 mm reinforced concrete

25.12

6 16 7 3 6 3 7 3 16 7 16 19 20

49 49

49

20

fascia: folded aluminium sheeting, fascia: folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish anodised finish fascia: folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish

20

2 residential buildings, 37 apartments, and renovation of an historic building, with 9 townhouses and shops

140

4

4

26

horizontal louvers: custom-made, horizontal louvers: custom-made, extruded and perforated extruded and perforated horizontal louvers: custom-made, aluminium, aluminium, extruded and anodised finishperforated anodised finish aluminium,

26

26

12

20.93

18

18

20.93 20.93

1812

fascia: folded aluminium sheeting, fascia: folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish anodised finish fascia: folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish

12 4

140

140

balustrade: safety glass, balustrade: safety glass, steel structure, steel structure, balustrade: safety powder-coat finishglass, powder-coat finish steel structure, powder-coat finish

298

408 408

408

298

298

anodised finish window frames: aluminium, window frames: aluminium, powder-coat finish, double glazing powder-coat finish, double glazing window frames: aluminium, powder-coat finish, double glazing

12

2.97 2.97

12

115

115

concrete pavers on supports, concrete pavers on supports, waterproofing on graded waterproofing on graded concrete pavers on supports, reinforced concrete slab reinforced concrete slab waterproofing on graded reinforced concrete slab

115

balustrade: safety glass, balustrade: safety glass, steel structure, steel structure, balustrade: safety powder-coat finishglass, powder-coat finish steel structure, powder-coat finish

12 26

26

26

39

39

39

2.97

fascia: fascia: folded aluminium sheeting folded aluminium sheeting fascia: folded aluminium sheeting

15 26

1:50

0.2

0.2

1m 1m

0.2

1m

259

259

259 5

5 26 5 26

15 26

1:50 1:50

26

252 5

niv 0 0.00

5

niv 0 0.00 niv 0 0.00

515

252

252

window frames: aluminium, window frames: aluminium, powder-coat finish, double glazing powder-coat finish, double glazing window frames: aluminium, powder-coat finish, double glazing

26

158

p.102

p.200

p.219

p.222

159

p.304

1:500 2

The very particular site conditions of La Verrière invited a variety of typological experiments. Most notably, in the main building, apartments were developed with a clear distinction between the spatial proportions of the bedrooms and service areas, whose standard-height rooms face outward or onto the inner atrium, and the south-facing living rooms, which are one and a half times higher. Thus, for every three storeys on the rear elevation of the building, there are only two on the main facade. This variation is made manifest in visual distinctions between the rear

10 m

elevation clad in anthracite-coloured brick, the living rooms wrapped in clear anodised aluminium, and the horizontal perforated aluminium louvers shuttering the balconies when they are closed. Installed at the outer edges of the balconies, they generate totally different perceptions of the facade and its exterior spaces. In order to guarantee their resistance to wind and to minimise potentially bothersome noise due to the additional height, they had to be custom built and this allowed for a more streamlined element to be designed.

EPFL Quartier Nord, Student Housing, écublens, Switzerland, 2008–2013

160

252 apartments: 172 studios, 80 suites with 2, 4, 6, and 8 bedrooms

26

25

995

7 25

995

7

19.35 19.35

258

264

264

suspended sliding shutters: folded aluminium sheeting, suspended sliding shutters: anodised finish folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish

258

26

coping: folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish coping: folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish gravel on bituminous roofing, thermal insulation, gravel on bituminous roofing, reinforced concrete slab thermal insulation, reinforced concrete slab cladding: serigraphed glass, overprinted serigraphy cladding: serigraphed glass, overprinted serigraphy

insulation covering and window reveal: fibre cement panels insulation covering and window reveal: fibre cement panels

2605

26

43

11 26

43

11

16.13 16.13

2605

window frames: PVC, aluminium, double glazing window frames: PVC, aluminium, double glazing

11

4.08 4.08

955

955

26

11 26

cladding: serigraphed glass, overprinted serigraphy cladding: serigraphed glass, overprinted serigraphy

371

suspended ceiling: folded aluminium sheeting, suspended ceiling: anodised finish folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish

315

315

371

window frames: steel profiles, powder-coat finish, window frames: steel profiles, double glazing powder-coat finish, double glazing

20

20

0.00 0.00

1:50 1:50

0.2 0.2

1m 1m

161

p.376

1:1000 2

This student housing complex comprises an important part of the vast project for the new EPFL Quartier Nord. Studios and suites comprising two to eight bedrooms open onto access galleries overlooking a landscaped courtyard. All of the bedrooms, on the other hand, are arranged around the external perimeter of the buildings. On this external facade, floor-toceiling windows in each bedroom are positioned on a regular grid with the areas in between covered in sober grey fibre-cement panels. Only narrow

10 m

lateral window reveals anticipate the effect of the access galleries within, which are bathed in colour. Full-height sliding aluminium panels provide shading and privacy. The remaining end walls and opaque surfaces have been clad with serigraphed glass. The combination of glass, aluminium, and fibre-cement panels establish a clear dialogue with the convention center across the plaza.

Vennes 3, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2007–2009

162

Banking and IT offices

40 20

24

20

fascia: folded aluminum sheeting, anodised finish

19

40

12

16.97

40

19

10

20

40

20

24

40

43

5

40

12

16.97

horizontal louvers: fascia: folded aluminum perforated aluminium,sheeting, anodised finish finish powder-coat

window frames: aluminium, horizontal double louvers: glazing perforated aluminium, powder-coat finish

10

253

291

291

435

window frames: aluminium, double glazing

253

291

291

pillar: steel section, 6-10 cm, anodised aluminium covering

40

45

535

96

pillar: steel section, 6-10 cm, anodised gutter:aluminium aluminiumcovering

26 20

20

eaves: folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish

30

26

14

attique 13.48

45

535

96

5

40

26

281

6

6

column: reinforced concrete window frames: aluminium, double glazing

212

212

281

vertical brise-soleil: serigraphed glass, window frames: aluminium, partial coverage double glazing

212

212

5

20

20

30

26

14

attique 13.48

gutter: aluminium vertical brise-soleil: serigraphed glass, eaves: folded aluminium partialanodised coveragefinish sheeting,

fan coil unit 885

92

column: reinforced concrete cladding: serigraphed glass, full coverage

34 25 34 279

279

279

column: reinforced concrete

niv 0 0.00

30

25

window frames: aluminium, double glazing

30

1m

25

niv 0 0.00

0.2

1:50 1m

279

279

25

279

107

245

35

39

8 9

1:50

885

14 107

30

8 9

aluminium, anodised finish

window frames: aluminium, double glazing

245

35

39

92

niv 1 3.58

16

horizontal louvers: custom-made, column: reinforced concrete extruded and perforated

16

fan coil unit cladding: serigraphed glass, full coverage horizontal louvers: custom-made, extruded and perforated aluminium, anodised finish

0.2

6

30

14

6

niv 1 3.58

p.114

1:500 2

Filling the last remaining constructible area of the banking complex on the outskirts of Lausanne, this Crédit Agricole administration and IT center makes maximum use of the allowable building volume with a clear distribution of service and reception spaces, as well as meeting and training rooms on the ground floor. Three typical offices floors are optimally arranged around the service core, maximising office space at the perimeter. The top floor is reserved for executive offices and additional meeting areas. Clearly set into the ground, the building opens

10 m

up generously to its surroundings. The long strip windows on the side elevations are topped by a cornice, which extends all the way to the south facade, becoming a deep brise-soleil. In turn, it shades the large windows and projects the building toward the lake and the extended landscape. Laterally, windows on the east and west sides are shaded by a partially serigraphed vertical laminated glass brise-soleil that rotates to guarantee optimal protection from direct sunlight, allowing for ideal natural lighting conditions at all times along with views of the surroundings.

163

Route de Berne 46, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2001–2005 Office building

roofing: roofing: bituminous seal, bituminous seal, trapezoidal steel sheeting, trapezoidal steel sheeting, steel I-beam steel I-beam

20

30

30 12

12

305 20

305

30 13 12

30

+17.60 +17.60

13 12

fascia: folded aluminium sheeting, fascia: foldedfinish aluminium sheeting, anodised anodised finish

228

228 13

13

198

198

215 13

90

90

3

3

handrail and louver support: handrail louver support: foldedand aluminium sheeting, folded aluminium anodised finishsheeting, anodised finish

13

215

window frames: window frames: solar protection, solar protection, textile screen, textile screen, aluminium, anodised finish, aluminium, anodised finish, double glazing double glazing

24

window frames: aluminium, window frames: aluminium, anodised finish, double glazing anodised finish, double glazing

28

24

28

+14.10 +14.10

pillar: reinforced concrete pillar: reinforced concrete

radiator radiator

399 336

336

210

210

399

399

399

vertical louvers: custom-built, vertical louvers:glass custom-built, aluminium, aluminium, glass

13

13

43 24

24

18

18

louver support: louver support: folded aluminium sheeting, folded aluminium anodised finishsheeting, anodised finish

43

+3.90 +3.90

1:50 1:50

0.2 0.2

1m 1m

18

18

13

+0.00 +0.00

323

323

323

323

323

323

pillar: reinforced concrete pillar: reinforced concrete

13

164

p.112

165

p.236

1:500 2

A simple prismatic form makes maximum use of planning allowances, with setbacks for the attic on the top floor as well as the southwest corner of the building. The building presents straightforward exposed reinforced-concrete elevations on three sides, while the main facade adopts a completely different appearance. This western elevation is fully glazed, and then protected by a series of custom-built vertical louvers. The extruded aluminium elements are complemented by tinted, laminated glass, and thus function very efficiently as brise-soleils to reduce excessive

10 m

solar gain while also providing views to the outside, even when they are completely closed. The louvers are installed in such a way that they can be controlled autonomously by the occupants of individual offices. They tend to be left in a variety of orientations, with the resulting interplay of reflected light, shadow, and transparency producing a highly animated expression. This expressive facade contrasts with the quieter facades of the main building envelope, which is composed of white cement and stone aggregate quarried in the neighbouring Jura mountains.

Route de Berne 46

166

1212

88

15 15

10 10

56 56

17 17

14 14

2 2

2 2

2222

1313

2121

3838

3838

3838

1:10 1:10 55

detail detailofofcustom-built custom-builtaluminium aluminiumand andglass glassvertical verticallouvers louvers

2020cm cm

vertical verticalbrise-soleil brise-soleil extruded extrudedaluminium aluminiumprofile profile anodised anodisedfinish finish

tempered temperedand andlaminated laminatedglass glassfinfin transparent transparentand andsolar solarPVB PVBfilm film

21231

202707

3

66 2828

200 200

center centerpoint point

1:3 1:3

11

5 5cm cm

3838

p.112

167

p.236

1:500 2

10m

IMD Nestlé Building, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2002–2006

18

18 34

34

33

330

330

34

34

14 14 4 1 14 14 4 1 33

33 12

horizontal louvers: horizontal louvers: perforated aluminium, perforated aluminium, powder-coat finish powder-coat finish

12

18

18

34

attique attique 11.70 11.70

34

fascia: fascia: folded aluminium sheeting, folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish anodised finish

12

12 286

346

346

heating andand heating cooling induction units cooling induction units

286

18

18

33

5

19 3 12 5 19 3 12

31

+15.35 +15.35 31

18 34

34

330

330

fascia: fascia: folded aluminium sheeting, folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish anodised finish

18

Research building, teaching facilities, and an auditorium

330

330 286

pillar: steel, pillar: steel, fireproofing paint fireproofing paint

286

346

346

330

330

window frames: aluminium, window frames: aluminium, anodised finish, double glazing anodised finish, double glazing

thermal insulation thermal insulation

34

34

14 14 4 1 14 14 4 1 33

33

18

18

niv 1niv 4.42 1 4.42 34

fascia: fascia: folded aluminium sheeting, folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish anodised finish

34

82

82

325

325

47

47

4

thermal insulation thermal insulation

4

80

80

321

321

grill: steel, galvanised finish grill: steel, galvanised finish

beam: composite steel beam beam: composite steel beam

325

325

pillar: prefabricated pillar: prefabricated reinforced concrete reinforced concrete

1:50 1:50 0.20.2

1 m1 m

niv 0niv 0.00 0 0.00

1

1

4

4

4

window frames: aluminium, window frames: aluminium, anodised finish, double glazing anodised finish, double glazing

4

168

p.72

169

p.238

1:500 2

This compact building faces directly onto the courtyard in front of the main administrative building on the IMD campus. A large flat classroom with a generous foyer on the ground floor and three floors of flexible office space for research fellows are housed in its simple volume. Positioned eccentrically are an elevator and a stairwell, producing efficient use of a maximised floor surface with no columns within and an almost fully glazed perimeter. A second layer wraps the facades with a full-height series of horizontal, micro-perforated aluminium louvers. These louvers

10 m

can be individually oriented by the occupants, guaranteeing ideal working conditions with optimal day lighting, excluding unwanted heat gain, and maintaining views of the campus, the lake, and the mountains beyond. The slope of the land allowed the ground floor to be accommodated between retaining walls on the north and east sides, opening up the fully glazed south and west elevations. A single precast concrete pillar at the southwest corner effortlessly supports the three storeys that appear to hover above.

Flon Les Mercier, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2006–2008 Requalification of public spaces and facade design for 4 new buildings

10 5 14 2 8

14 2 8 27

27

suspended sliding shutters: suspended sliding shutters: folded aluminium sheeting, folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish anodised finish

10

16.25 16.25

5

10

10

310

310

coping: folded aluminium sheeting, coping: folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish anodised finish

304 250

250

304

window frames: aluminium, window frames: aluminium, anodised finish, double glazing anodised finish, double glazing

balustrade: safety glass balustrade: safety glass

5

5

13

13

27

27

270

270

5

5

300

300

13.10 13.10

solar protection: textile screen solar protection: textile screen

300

300

serigraphed double glazing serigraphed double glazing

pillar: reinforced concrete pillar: reinforced concrete

transom: steelsteel section, powder-coat finish transom: section, powder-coat finish

5

thermal insulation thermal insulation

5

8

8

27

27

5

5

3.903.90

3655

3655

155 5

155 5

355

355

3655

3655

post: steelsteel section, powder-coat finish post: section, powder-coat finish

1:50 1:50 0.2 0.2

1 m1 m

15

15

27

0.000.00

27

aluminium sheeting, anodised finish aluminium sheeting, anodised finish

155 5

double glazing double glazing

155 5

170

171

p.82

1:500 2

This group of buildings is situated at the southern end of a former warehouse district in the heart of Lausanne. The typical gentrification process determined that the more interesting buildings were slated for renovation and the rest for demolition, to be replaced by new ones which respect the volumes of their predecessors in order to maintain the coherence of this historic quarter. In sharp contrast to the existing masonry warehouse buildings, a bold decision was taken to erect pure volumes sheathed in glass and aluminium. These buildings house different activities, mainly commercial establishments on the ground floor and basement levels, with offices and some housing on the upper floors. In

10 m

order to heighten the abstraction of the volumes, a variety of details were manipulated to obtain a flush finish on the external surfaces. This began with extensive use of high-performance double glazing, which was partially serigraphed, maintaining views to the outside and keeping excessive solar gain at bay. A number of modules were kept clear with roll-up blinds on the inside to allow the users in these offices a measure of control over natural lighting and views. Smaller, operable windows were placed behind perforated aluminium sheeting, maintaining the flush finish of the volume, while providing the amenity of natural ventilation.

85

85

175

175

15

15 265 15 9

1

15 9

1

265

Flon Les Mercier

106106

113 113

1

17

232232

5 5 102102

7

236236

375

375 3 15

15

15

15

3

3

7

3

15 265

1

1 15 3 6

15 3 6

7

15 265

planplan toptop floor floor housing housing

11251125

25 25

11251125

25 25

545 545

25 25

7 14 15 3

7 14 15 3

15

15 265 15

1

15

9

1

265

planplan typical typical office office floors floors

9

172

228228

1

1

11251125

planplan ground ground floor floor

1:20 1:20 10 10

50 50 cmcm

25 25

5 5 225225

25 25

p.82

173

Clinique La Source, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2007–2009

174

90 80

275

80

80

folded metal sheeting, thermal insulation

80

folded metal sheeting, thermal insulation

17

17 27

27 10

80

10 33

80

33

90

80

fixed ventilation louvers: extruded aluminium, fixed ventilation anodised finish louvers: extruded aluminium, anodised finish

80

Facade renovation and new corporate identity coping: folded aluminium sheeting on coping: steel section, folded aluminium sheeting on anodised finish steel section, anodised finish

80

45

80

45

275

substructure: steel sections mounted on substructure: existing structure, steel sections mounted on powder-coat finish existing structure, powder-coat finish

69

80

35 16

80

16

80

cladding: serigraphed laminated glass, cladding: partial coverage; serigraphed laminated glass, PVB layer translucent/transparent partial coverage; PVB layer translucent/transparent

69

80

33

33

firebreak: mineral wool, firebreak: steel sheeting mineral wool, steel sheeting

80

3

3

80

49

80

49

35

thermal insulation: new layer, thermal insulation: tinted protective membrane new layer, tinted protective membrane

80

steel structure, existing

317

64 4

317

4

window frames: steel, powder-coat finish, double glazing window frames: steel, powder-coat finish, double glazing

64

steel structure, existing

2.82

25 17

acrylic render on thermal insulation

17

2.82

13

13 25

acrylic render on thermal insulation

227

227

fixed ventilation louvers: extruded aluminium, fixed ventilation powder-coat finishlouvers: extruded aluminium, powder-coat finish

0.00 0.00

1:50 1:50

0.2 0.2

1m 1m

p.80

1:750 2

Situated in the center of Lausanne, the La Source clinic and school had grown since the 1970s to occupy a diverse group of buildings. The invited competition brief was focused on the renewal of the clinic’s public image as much as the need to renovate the facades. This winning entry went beyond a purely aesthetic intervention, proposing a major overhaul of the thermal and acoustical performance of the building envelope. It also proposed to alter the perception of the building from the point of view of passers-by on the road as well as from afar, looking up the long Avenue de Beaulieu toward the southwest corner of the renovated facade. Simple glazing in the existing windows was replaced by highperformance elements, and the external insulation greatly improved with

10 m

new layers of mineral wool, which were then covered in an emeraldcoloured protective surface. The whole was wrapped with a new layer of laminated glass cladding. This translucent layer allowed for the actual depth of the intervention to become perceptible, as well as producing a wealth of expression throughout the day, depending on levels of sunlight, shadow patterns, the interplay of reflections, and even varying lighting from within, which becomes visible at night. The glass panels were serigraphed with a horizontal white geometric motif that plays off the colour of the actual glass and the protective coating behind it. The result, seemingly almost organic in nature, reinforces the textile quality of the new cladding.

175

Clinique La Source

176

3 60

22

existing steel structure, RHS 150x150x6.3 26

230

60

60

334

folded steel sheeting with thermal isulation

3

6

19

window frames: steel, powder-coat finish, double glazing Plan B-B' detail

26

thermal insulation: new layer, tinted protective membrane 230

49

22

16

16

10

211

cladding: serigraphed laminated glass, partial coverage; PVB layer translucent/transparent

3

106

433

15

89

substructure: steel sections mounted on existing structure, powder-coat finish 15 106 firebreak: mineral wool, steel sheeting

3

06

91 6

22

230

230

22

230 16

16

62

existing steel structure, RHS 150x150x6.3

94

1:25

frames: 50window cm 10 steel, powder-coat finish, double glazing

01

601

51

98

51

601

032

3

032

22

cladding: serigraphed laminated glass, partial coverage; PVB layer translucent/transparent

16

16

211

211

29 483

1:25 10

112

50 cm

92 384

112

61

61

substructure: steel sections mounted on existing structure, powder-coat finish firebreak: 16 16 211 mineral wool, steel sheeting

211

177

p.80

1:500 2

10m

SICPA Chavornay, Switzerland, 2010–2014

178

New facade and corporate identity for 5 existing buildings in an industrial park

4

coping: folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish

coping: folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish steel section

4

steel section

steel section

steel section

115

14 9

23

23

993

steel sheeting, powder-coated cladding: serigraphed glass, partial coverage steel sheeting, powder-coated thermal insulation: new layer, tinted protective membrane cladding: serigraphed glass, partial coverage thermal insulation: new layer, tinted protective membrane

10

10

23

1:50 0.2

1m

1:50 0.2

1m

23

21

21

993

115

14 9

179

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This ensemble of diverse existing warehouses and buildings occupies a site in a vast industrial park bordered by fields and rows of trees in the countryside not far from Lausanne. The buildings, mostly dating from the 1970s, were in dire need of upgrading, as much in terms of performance as aesthetics. All of the facade surfaces needed to be enveloped in a significant new layer of thermal insulation, which allowed openings to be rearranged to adapt to new needs while retaining the existing structures

10 m

and base layers. In addition to the added insulation, a coloured protective coating was applied, and an external layer of partially serigraphed translucent glass cladding was hung on white powder-coated aluminium mullions. The new facades are now perceivable in very different ways, depending on lighting conditions and the observer’s viewpoint, at times reflecting the trees and sky and at other times projecting a palpable depth, with the glass shimmering like richly woven textile.

CFF Train Maintenance Center, Geneva, Switzerland, 1995–1999

180

roofing: profiled steel sheeting; galvanised finish, Z-profile, galvanised; ventilation space; roofing: thermal insulation; profiled sheeting; folded steel steel sheeting, galvanisedfinish finish, powder-coat Z-profile, galvanised; ventilation space; cladding: thermal insulation; anodised aluminium profiles; Z-profile, folded steel sheeting, galvanised finish; powder-coat finish ventilation space; thermal insulation; cladding: folded steel sheeting, anodised finish aluminium profiles; Z-profile, powder-coat galvanised finish; ventilation space; thermal insulation; folded steel sheeting, folded aluminium sheeting, powder-coat anodised finish, finish cantilevered steel section folded aluminium sheeting, anodised finish, cantilevered steel section

oversized wooden shingles: 700/300/30 mm, weatherproofing treatment; timber battens and counter-battens; thermal insulation; oversized wooden shingles: folded steel sheeting; 700/300/30 mm, powder-coat finish pillar, steel sections, weatherproofing treatment; timber battens and counter-battens; thermal insulation; folded steel sheeting; pillar, steel sections, powder-coat finish

window frames: aluminium, anodised finish, double glazing; interior window sill, solid timber window frames: aluminium, anodised finish, double glazing; interior window sill, solid timber

base wall: reinforced concrete cast on site

base wall: reinforced concrete cast on site

1:50 0.2

1:50

1m

181

p.98

SBB CFF FFS SBB CFF FFS

SBB CFF FFS

1:1750 1:1750

10 10

40 m 40 m

10

40 m

1:1750

Located just east of the main railway station in Geneva, this 300-metrelong shed building comprises over 10,000 square metres of space devoted to the maintenance of the latest generation of trains acquired by the CFF. The plain architectural expression aptly reinforces the functional nature of the building, a typical industrial nave, with steel frame, light cladding, and north-facing skylights. The lateral facades have been clad in oversized wooden shingles, which are in turn protected by wide overhanging eaves. A very long strip window allowing for additional light and views to the outside at eye level was introduced between the wooden cladding and the concrete base wall. The short end walls, with openings that facilitate

the movement of trains in and out of the maintenance center, as well as the service annex are entirely clad in clear anodised aluminium. The parallel volumes of the nave, which are staggered in order to best accommodate varying configurations of railway cars within existing site boundaries, seem to be sliding past one another along the tracks. The minimalist palette of wood, glass, and aluminium, while clearly expressing the functional character of the building, also realises the Swiss National Railway’s desire to communicate an environmentally conscious attitude through its construction.

CFF Train Maintenance Center

182

3737

1010

44

66

2 2

thermalinsulation; insulation;folded foldedsteel steelsheeting; sheeting; thermal pillar,steel steelsections, sections,powder-coat powder-coatfinish finish pillar,

structuralsteel steelprofile, profile,HEA HEA280 280 structural

timberbattens battensand andcounters-battens counters-battens timber

955 9

2455 24

6 6

455 4

12 12

13 13

27 28 28 27

1955 19

72 72

15 15

anodisedaluminium aluminiumsheeting sheeting anodised

5 5 2929

oversizedwooden woodenshingles shingles700/300/30 700/300/30mm mm oversized 140 140

5252

55

planatatwooden woodencladding claddinglevel level plan

3737

1010

5

656

33

thermalinsulation insulation5050mm mm thermal

5555 55

28 28

thermalinsulation; insulation;folded foldedsteel steelsheeting; sheeting; thermal pillar,steel steelsections, sections,powder-coat powder-coatfinish finish pillar,

17 17

7 7

4 4

2455 24

50 50

1955 19

15 15

455 4

insulatingaluminium aluminiumprofile profile insulating

77

1515 5 5

planatatwindow windowlevel level plan

5 5 1111

3737

66

anodisedaluminium aluminiumsheeting sheetingononplywood plywoodpanels panels anodised

windowframes: frames: window aluminium,anodised anodisedfinish, finish,double doubleglazing; glazing;interior interiorwindow windowsill, sill,solid solidtimber timber aluminium,

33

thermalinsulation insulation5050mm mm thermal

3 3

355 3

insulatingaluminium aluminiumprofile profile insulating

thermalinsulation; insulation;folded foldedsteel steelsheeting; sheeting; thermal pillar,steel steelsections, sections,powder-coat powder-coatfinish finish pillar,

15 15

20 20

50 50

5555 55

5 5

7 7

anodisedaluminium aluminiumsheeting sheeting anodised

basewall: wall:reinforced reinforcedconcrete concretecast castononsite site base 6363

planatatbase basewall walllevel level plan

5 5 1717

thermalinsulation insulation5050mm mm thermal

1:20 1:20 10 10

33

50cm cm 50

p.98

183

TYPOLOGY

Enduring Relationships Christian Leibbrandt

186

On the Typological Approach1 Since the concept of “type” was established by Quatremère de Quincy at the end of the eighteenth century, and applied by Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand in the nineteenth century,2 the typological approach has been a continual source of interest and research for architects, whether in theoretical work, teaching, or actual building. Even today, the profusion of articles, atlases, and compendia on the subject testifies to the discipline’s enduring interest in the subject,3 confirming Rafael Moneo’s observation that “To raise the question of typology in architecture is to raise the question of the nature of the architectural work itself. To answer it means, for each generation, a redefinition of the essence of architecture and an explanation of all its attendant problems.”4 Beyond a doctrinaire approach to the notion of “type,” and drawing on its documentary and referential potential, the field of typology at large has witnessed a resurgence of interest, in particular in the related notions of hybridisation and mixing of types.5 This brings us to the twofold condition of the typological approach as an instrument of knowledge and of project-making. At a time when architecture is besieged by douts that go so far as to question its very future, we believe that the typological approach continues to be instructive. To begin with, it affirms that our work exists in a historical continuum, which it seems to me is more a matter of evolutions and inflections than of leaps or ruptures. In its diachronic approach, typological analysis enables us to detect the nuances and modulations of this slow evolution. It is in this frame of reference that we place the reflection on typological innovation. Typology, conceived as a system of relations,6 constitutes an attempt to understand the complexity of dwelling, in which there is a convergence of cultural and social models, representations, historical and professional models, constructive, aesthetic, economic parameters, and regulatory constraints.

Rue de L'Avenir Morges, Switzerland

Urban Form and Type: The Logics of the Creation of Form One of the fundamental contributions of Italian research on typology during the 1960s was its emphasis on dialectical rather than causal relations between urban and architectural form, morphology, and typology. This attention to the generation of form, of the city vis-à-vis the object, or typological development vis-à-vis urban morphology constitutes one of the themes of reflection in our projects. This problematic takes us to the heart of what defines the specificity of our discipline, that is, the notion of scale. In our practice, there is a back-and-forth movement between scales, from the building to the city, from urban fabric to type, from object to ensemble, and from ensemble to neighbourhood. This interaction between type and urban morphology is one of the “materials” with which we work, and the understanding of it enables us to retrace the conditions of the creation of forms. Two logics are at work in this form-making process: an internal logic, which pushes the object toward the exterior, and an external logic which, at the scale of the parcel or urban fabric, acts upon urban form.

Avenue de Béthusy Lausanne, Switzerland

Throughout this chapter we have left in French some terms commonly used in France and Switzerland, in recognition of their regional specificity as well as their resistance to translation: barre, the long slab type; plot, a term which in French Switzerland refers to a compact building type; and traversant, also a French-Swiss term for a type of apartment that traverses the lateral depth of a building with fenestration on both narrow ends. Likewise, the regional terms used by local governments in establishing zoning codes have been left in French: Indice d'utilisation du sol (IUS) and Coefficient d'Utilisation du sol (CUS) or floor area ratio (FAR), and Coefficient d'Occupation du Sol (COS) or the ratio of the area of the building footprint to the size of the parcel. 2 Antoine Chrisostome Quatremère de Quincy, Encyclopédie méthodique, Architecture, 3 vols. (Paris: Panckoucke, 1825) and Jacques-Nicolas-Louis Durand, Recueil et Parallèle des Edifices de tout genre Anciens et modernes, remarquables par leur beauté, par leur grandeur ou par singularité, et dessinés sur une même échelle (Paris: L’Imprimerie de Gillé fils, 1801). 3 See Emanuel Christ and Christoph Gantenbein, Typology – Rome, New York, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Review No. II (Zürich: Swiss Federal Institute of TechnologyETH, 2012); Peter Ebner, Eva Herrmann, Roman Höllbacher, Markus Kuntscher, Ulrike Wietzorrek, Typology+Innovative Residential Architecture (Basel, Berlin, Boston: Birkhäuser, 2010); Oliver Heckmann, Friederike Schneider, Floor Plan Manual Housing (Basel, Berlin, Boston: Birkhäuser, 2011); Aurora Fernández Per, Javier Mosas, Javier Arpa, DBook, Density, Data, Diagrams, Dwellings (Vitoria-Gasteiz: a+t ediciones, 2007); Bruno Marchand, Antigoni Katsakou, Concevoir des logements, Concours en Suisse 2000–2005 (Lausanne: Presses Polytechniques Universitaires Romandes, 2009); Bettina & Claus Staniek, “A Typology of Office Forms,” Best of Detail: Büro Office (Munich: Institut für Internationale Architektur-Dokumentation, 2013). 4 Raphael Moneo, “On Typology,” Oppositions 13 (Summer 1978): 23. 5 Ebner, Herrmann, Höllbacher, Kuntscher, Wietzorrek, Typology+Innovative Residential Architecture,“Archetype, prototype, type, what interests us is the oscillation of the term, not its rigid constriction,” 16. 6 “Isolément (les) types ne représentent pas un outil très riche si on ne les replace pas dans un système global. C’est ce système, c’est-à-dire, l’ensemble des types et de leurs relations que nous nommerons typologie,” Philippe Panerai, Jean Charles Depaule, Marcelle Demorgon, and Michel Veyrenche, Elements d’Analyse Urbaine (Brussels: Archives d’Architecture Moderne, 1980), 106. 1

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Bobst Headquarters Mex, Switzerland

Internal logics Program, constraints, and functional relations express their logic in schemas or spatial configurations, which in turn are translated into architectural form in accordance with the modern tradition of “form follows function,” but also, and above all, in accordance with a will to expressive coherence.7 Some buildings express their function unambiguously, and thus fit uneventfully into their typological class. For example, our competition project for the Hardturm Stadium (2012) is very much in keeping with the nature of its program, the CFF Swiss National Train Maintenance Center (1995–99) evokes a hangar for trains, and the SwissTech Conference Center, EPFL Quartier Nord (2008–14) takes its general volume from the form of the great hall. Other buildings may express the particularity of a mixed program through a hybrid or specific form, like Quartier Erlenmatt (2008) and Aquatis (2005–16), or on the contrary, attempt to integrate disparate programs into a coherent formal and volumetric whole, like the project for Bobst Headquarters (2008–12). It is rare to find in our work forms based on compositional criteria,8 like symmetry or a regulating line, which does not mean there are no strategies of formal composition. Rather, one could say that they refer to the heritage of the modern plan, as with the prototype for a Forest Refuge (1991–96) in the Vallée de Joux. Here, technical and constructional constraints led to a project based on the deployment of building elements which were given form by operations of geometrical composition. Walls were translated along their axes to free the four angles of the plan, while the ridge of the roof was shifted and aligned diagonally in relation to the quadrilateral plan, creating an irregularly canted canopy. Although it was designed according to basic geometric principles, the refuge paradoxically appears to be an “organic” form in tune with the landscape. Two other projects could also be described as organic: Clinique La Prairie (2001–05), and the Propriété Bellerive (2011), insofar as they share the specificity of being intimately linked to the natural and topographical context of their sites.

Forest Refuge Vallée de Joux, Switzerland

Clinique La Prairie Clarens-Montreux, Switzerland

External logics By external logics, we mean the manner in which constraints on architectural form are exercised from a scale greater than that of the building, like the urban fabric or the structure of parcels. These constraints are generally expressed through planning regulations, and apply to size, volumes, and building layout, and they define urban form and determine the architectural project. The urban structure, as articulated by rules of contiguity, alignment, and vista, also influences typological developments, as with projects like La Verrière (2001–05), L’Îlot-du-Centre (2006–11), Rue du Jura 6 (2012–15), Rue de l’Avenir (2010–13), and Dos Patios (2008–10). The shape of a parcel can condition the morphology of a building, as in the case of the Delta Project (2008), in which the form of the lot naturally led to the development of a triangular building, and Chemin de l’Ochettaz (2012–15), where the irregularity of the parcel led to a differentiation and volumetric richness that contributed to the building’s integration into its setting. To these determinants are added the specific qualities of place, topography, orientation, and view, with the aim of maximising the advantages, as in the cases of Clinique La Prairie and Les Terrasses de Villette (2010–13), or minimising the drawbacks, as in the case of La Verrière, in each natural or built context with which the new building establishes a new relation, or a new equilibrium. The great majority of our projects share the common modality of having been developed within a precise and generally homogenous regulatory and legal framework, that of Switzerland and more specifically the canton of Vaud. Whether they are expressed through neighbourhood plans, as with Trait-Planches (2009–14), Tour de l’Esplanade (2012), Avenue de la Vallombreuse (1991–95), and the Quartier des Uttins (1998–2009), or communal regulations, the regulatory structures governing our projects are precise and above all binding. They condition and even directly determine the form of the buildings. There is, consequently, a close correlation between the morphology defined by the urban plan and the potential typological developments: both the form and its dimensions (notably, in the case of housing, depth) limit the typological options. In our practice, we have experienced this as an impediment to typological development and innovation. However, in some cases, the designer of the project is allowed a certain amount of room to maneuver, notably when there is a difference

“The signature trait of Richter & Dahl Rocha's work is the legibility with which each project expresses the program for which it was concieved. ... What is quietly revealed is the 'character' of the architectural task, an ancient and specifically architectural way of affirming Aristotle's dictum that things (like the characters in his Rhetoric) are manifestly what they say they are,“Jorge Francisco Liernur,“Acerca de la delicadeza: consideraciones sobre la obra de Richter & Dahl Rocha,” published as “On Tact,” in The Architecture of Richter & Dahl Rocha, trans. Inéz Zalduendo (Basel, Berlin, Boston: Birkhäuser, 2007), 23. 8 The concept of composition is historically one of “logiques inhérentes aux manières de concevoir un bâtiment,” which is “omniprésent jusqu’à la fin du XIXe siècle et dont l’érosion est indubitable à mesure que l’on avance dans le XXe siècle,” Jacques Lucan, Composition, non-composition (Lausanne: Presses polytechniques universitaires romandes, 2009), 6f. 7

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between the rights to build defined by the regulations and the theoretical constructible area defined by the plan (building perimeter, maximum height). This was the case with both Quartier des Uttins and Grand-Pré Sud (2012– 14). In other cases, where regulations do not offer such latitude, the investor may appropriate that freedom, renouncing some of his rights to build in order to improve the quality of the urban project, for example the creation of a public space in the form of an esplanade, as with L’Îlot-du-Centre, or a restriction of the plan, as with Les Uttins G, or the height, like the IMD Executive Learning Center (1999–2002). In certain projects, we use a regulatory constraint to develop a typological diversification, as we did in Les Uttins D, where the voids between the buildings dictated by the neighbourhood plan were given the form of generous, covered outdoor spaces linking and articulating the built volumes. These few examples show that the degree of freedom offered by the regulatory framework can be conducive to innovation or the combination and hybridisation of types, and that it may consequently have a positive effect on the typological richness and quality of dwellings. Aggregation and form: from unit to ensemble The possibility of producing urban form through the architectural project allows greater scope for research or innovation, and more coherence and quality for urban space, as with our projects for Au Pré-du-Canal, begun in 1994, Plan de Quartier des Cèdres (2008–13), Les Moulins Rod (2011), and Les Planches (2012). This raises the question of how the regulation is to be given concrete form in order to ensure the required urban coherence, while leaving room for future builders to maneuver, with a view to “multi-party” construction or successive phases of construction, in other words, the question of open or closed planning. When the scale of the project and intervention goes beyond an isolated object to a group of buildings constituting an ensemble, or even a neighbourhood, the shift in scale reveals, more than in other cases, the need to work with the formal and morphological relations between buildings, in particular, the project for intermediary spaces, that is, the relation between public space (external spaces) and private space (the built), between void and solid. This scale of intervention brings into play the notions of unity and diversity, coherence and differentiation, in other words, the problematic of architectural and formal identity. Dwelling and Type: Spatial Structure and Circulation Just as urban form ensures the mediation of public and private space, at the level of architectural form, type, in terms of spatial structure, regulates relations between the individual and the family unit or social context.

L'Îlot-du-Centre Lausanne, Switzerland

Quartier des Uttins Rolle, Switzerland

From public space to private sphere: access, circulation, distribution The question of access to housing, from the public space of the street to the heart of the dwelling, embraces the theme of the itinerary and its spatial sequences, the deployment of transitional spaces through which the inhabitant moves from the most public to the most private, across the thresholds of the semi-public and semiprivate. This problematic, historically neglected by the narrowly functionalist approach, is crucial to contemporary thinking about the densification and qualitative improvement of collective housing.9 Access – The handling of access paths and spaces between buildings provides an opportunity to work on empty space, and to put in place itineraries that serve as transitional zones and places of sociability and relaxation, which are very different from monofunctional circulation spaces, for example in L’Îlot-du-Centre, Trait-Planches, and Champs-Meunier Nord (2009–13). With the Quartier des Uttins, the access sequences of the four housing blocks comprise a series of transitional spaces, moving from the residential street (public) to the access path (semi-public), to the building entrance, which opens onto an internal street (semi-private) linking the vertical circulation units leading to the landings on each floor. Vertical circulation – There is no need to stress the importance of the quality of vertical circulation systems, and of their positioning in the building or their relation to the horizontal distribution system of the individual units. They contribute to the quality of reception and comfort. However, the imperatives of compactness and economy often cause vertical circulation cores to be positioned at the heart of the building, with no natural lighting. In order to avoid this negative outcome, the circulation space can be widened to create a hall lit from above, as with

“Access is also the thread that links the building to the networks of the city. The systems of communication are therefore one of the essential qualities of residential architecture,” Ebner, Herrmann, Höllbacher, Kuntscher, Wietzorrek, Typology+Innovative Residential Architecture, 16.

9

Grand-Pré Sud Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland

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Chemin des Peupliers (2010–13), Grand-Pré Sud, Les Fiches Nord (2011–15), and Quartier des Cèdres; a loggia can be created to provide a second source of daylight, as with Avenue de Sainte-Luce (2012–15) in Lausanne; or a light well can be opened up, as with Les Fiches (2013–15). In an atrium, like that of Chemin de Montelly (2013), vertical circulation is exploited to help create a spatial event which establishes this as a place for social exchange.

Au Pré-du-Canal Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland

EPFL Quartier Nord Student Housing écublens, Switzerland

Horizontal distribution: from landing to access gallery – The most common mode of distribution in contemporary residential production, and our own projects are no exception, is a core for vertical circulation which gives access to a landing serving one to four apartments, since the constraints of orientation and exposure to sunlight limit the number of units that can be served by a single shaft. In the case of the plot, the compact form of the building and the centrality of the stairs condition the type of distribution: the landing can be extended, making possible a greater number of apartments per floor, as with Les Fiches Nord, Grand-Pré Sud, and the Quartier des Cèdres. Two types of distribution also offer access to a large number of dwelling units from a single vertical circulation core: access galleries, whether open or closed, and the atrium. The theme of the access gallery is a recurrent feature in debates or research on matters of modern housing, and in thinking about distribution systems.10 In a history marked by adherence as well as rejection, architectural, economic, stylistic and ideological questions all intersect. In climates such as ours, it is hard for external access galleries to play a role as spaces of encounter and exchange (they are usually and logically positioned on the north facade), which in part explains the fact that buildings with access galleries are relatively rare in contemporary housing construction in the region. However, access gallery-based distribution systems are not totally absent from our thinking, as evidenced by unbuilt projects like Au Pré-du-Canal, where the gallery providing access to the dwelling units links several buildings and constitutes an open “elevated street” running parallel to the canal, as with projects currently in development like Avenue de Gilamont (2010–15), or completed projects like Avenue de Béthusy (2007–09). In the new EPFL Quartier Nord student housing (2008–13), as well as our project for the adjacent student housing complex, Les Triaudes, the access gallery is inhabited: it constitutes a living space. In the case of atrium type distribution, central distribution, whether or not combined with a system of internal corridors – constitutes an interesting solution in terms of access. In this case, the atrium functions as a space of distribution and encounter, and as a vector for natural light at the heart of a building which is generally deep to the benefit, notably, of service and distribution spaces. The plan and the internal structuring of the dwelling The question of access and distribution in residential buildings brings us to the theme of distribution within individual dwelling units, and consequently their organisation and internal structure, as expressed in plan, which is analysed by typology, and constitutes the basis for typological classification.

Les Uttins D Rolle, Switzerland

Internal circulation and distribution – There are two types of internal circulation: closed or cul-de-sac, in which living and service spaces are distributed by a corridor or a hall, and open, circular or radial, offering a diversity of itineraries among and between the various spaces. In the case of looped circulation, the internal distribution may circumvent or envelop the bathrooms, as with Chemin des Peupliers, a block combining bathrooms and kitchen, as with L’Îlot-du-Centre, Chemin de l’Ochettaz, and L’Îlot Sainte-Luce (1992–96), or a vertical circulation core, like the attic of Les Uttins G. The tendency toward the open plan, with open rather than closed circulation, reflects a will to diversify and enrich spatial relations in collective housing. For example, for Shamrock (1996–97), the looped itinerary passes not only through spaces of circulation, but into, around, and through living spaces. The desire to provide economical housing, and therefore rational apartments occupying a reduced area, leads to the desire to optimise living spaces to the detriment of distribution spaces, through the search for a plan (if possible) without a corridor, as we did in Les Fiches Nord and Grand-Pré Sud (radial circulation). Sometimes the living room, and even the living room-kitchen combination distributes or leads to the area of the bedrooms, as in La Verrière B. The few examples given here illustrate the frequent and necessary search for balance between the rationalisation of the plan (the image of an economic rationality) and spatial richness (the image of a relational richness) in the dwelling space.

Shamrock Pully, Switzerland Ebner, Herrmann, Höllbacher, Kuntscher, Wietzorrek, Typology+Innovative Residential Architecture, and Peter Ebner and Julius Klaffke, Living Streets (Vienna: Springer Verlag, 2009).

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Day and night / common and private zoning – The distinction, or even the dichotomy between the day and night zones of a dwelling constitutes a functional and semantic category that appears frequently in the discourse on housing for the project and for analysis. However, to speak of “day and night” is ultimately reductive. What is at stake in this opposition is the order of factors determining relations between the private, intimate sphere of each inhabitant, and the sphere of contact and interaction represented by common spaces. According to functionalist tradition and logic, there is a correspondence between day and night “zoning” and the orientation (exposure) of housing. Conventionally, in an apartment oriented east-west, the day zone is positioned on the west facade and the bedrooms on the east facade. To this approach is added the desire for the day zone to be positioned to take advantage of the best view. When the context is particularly prominent (for example, facing a park, like the residential buildings of the Quartier des Uttins), the position of the day zone will respond to the imperative of the view, to the detriment of orientation. The project for Avenue de Sainte-Luce, in an urban situation where open views and sunlight did not necessarily coincide, proposed an innovation to contravene this pattern: alternating the orientation of traversant apartments, ignoring the distinction between a street facade and courtyard facade, while combining the loggias with living spaces.

Avenue de Sainte-Luce Lausanne, Switzerland

Depth and orientation – The history of the development of collective housing is one of the evolution of depth of plan. After a period of reduction between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when depth went from 20 or even 30 metres to about 10, the depth of housing plans once again increased.11 The treatment of depth is inseparable from the effort to secure natural lighting and the organisation, in an increasingly distended space, of the common and private living spaces and their relations in terms of articulation and connection. In our practice, constraints linked to planning regulations, densification requirements, or the desire to optimise the relation between building length and depth (economic and energy optimisation, compactness) have led us to explore the relation between depth and type, by means of five formal operations: cutting, exemplified by Les Uttins F and G and Chemin de l’Ochettaz, hollowing, in La Verrière, Avenue de Gilamont, Les Fiches, Chemin de Bérée (2011), and Chemin de Montelly, perforating as with the Parc Gustave et Léonard Hentsch, LMI Building (2010–14), stretching, as in Dos Patios, and articulating, as with Chemin des Peupliers and Les Planches, in order to optimise the amount of natural light brought into a deep building. The imperatives of energy-conservation increasingly favour compact buildings, and are thus leading to the disappearance of overly articulated or disjointed forms, or even to the multiplication of compact polygonal forms like our Les Fiches Nord and Grand-Pré Sud projects, and the tendency toward the ideal form in terms of energy use: the circle. This tendency illustrates the relation between form constraint (here determined by the criteria of sustainable development) and typological freedom or innovation. Flexibility of plan and evolution – Another recurrent theme in architectural reflection on housing is that of the dwelling’s ability to respond over time to unforeseeable events or changes in the needs of the inhabitants, whether functional, familial, or economic. From the start, research on flexibility in collective housing has explored innumerable solutions to this problem. These can be divided into two categories: flexibility of plan during the conceptual stage, and flexibility in terms of actual use, which permits the inhabitant to modify the size or configuration of the dwelling after its construction, over time. In reality, and in contrast to the often-published examples which in fact are more the exception than the rule, practical, economic, and regulatory constraints, along with the assumptions of public and private investors tend to obstruct the development of innovative, open-ended solutions. The most common form of flexibility, one that is very limited in scope, relatively speaking, is that which is instilled in the plan during the development phase. This flexibility becomes part of the sales pitch and a commercial guarantee for the developer. In this case, the structural conception of the building and the position of the sanitary cores and technical shafts define “fixed points” that liberate zones which can be divided-up at will, like our Les Uttins D; once the choice has been made, the plan becomes fixed. Another, more modest form of flexibility, intervening at the conceptual stage, is that which makes

Nicolas Bassand, “Densité et logement collectif: Innovations architecturales et urbaines dans la Suisse contemporaine,” PhD diss., no. 4276, École Polytechnique Fédérale, Lausanne, 2009, 124.

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Formal operations

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it possible to vary the size of two contiguous apartments by attributing one or two bedrooms to one of them. Here, it is worth pointing out that far-reaching research into the concept of open-ended housing was carried out in our office in the late 1980s and early 1990s, leading to the development of the SWHome® Housing System. Developed from the winning project presented at EUROPAN 1 (1989–90), Évolution des modes de vie et architectures du logement (Evolution of Modes of Life and the Architectures of Housing), the SWHome® concept was conceived to promote affordable modular, flexible, and open-ended apartment housing that could be transformed by occupants according to a logic that was “more do-it-yourself than self-build.”

La Verrière Montreux, Switzerland

Torre Bajo Belgrano Buenos Aires, Argentina

The section: duplex, semi-duplex or Raumplan – Corollary to the valorisation of urban life and its consequence, the densification of the city, one tendency of contemporary research on housing concerns introducing the quality and spatial generosity of individual housing into collective housing. One of the means applied here is the volumetric treatment of spaces which, without going quite as far as Adolf Loos’ Raumplan, takes the architectural form of a differentiated treatment of the section. A typical solution, as our work illustrates, is that of the duplex, the most obvious evocation of the house type. This can lead to two different applications: horizontal juxtaposition, as with projects including Chemin de Liseron, and SWHome® Valmont, or vertical juxtaposition, as with Avenue de Béthusy, of duplex units, or the typological mix allowed by the integration of the duplex into ensembles combining single- and multi-storey apartments with, for example, Les Uttins E, the LMI Building on Parc Gustave et Léonard Hentsch, Im Forster “Le Garage” (2007–11), Avenue de Gilamont, and Champs-Meunier Nord. Another form of section differentiation resides in split-level treatment of the plan. With Chemin de la Crétaz (2004–08), the sectional difference occurs at the level of the stairwell, volumetrically articulating two buildings and leading to a privatisation of the landings giving access to the apartments. The (lateral or transversal) combination of spaces with varying ceiling heights, generally with greater height in the living rooms like at La Verrière, Torre Bajo Belgrano (2011), or L’Îlot Sainte-Luce, illustrates one line of contemporary research. This innovative, if less economical category of solutions tends to be applicable to upper-middle and middle-income housing. In a context where energy criteria are becoming increasingly general, this research leads to exercises in spatial combination designed to integrate a great diversity of dwelling units in a single compact volume, accommodating both individualisation and coherence.12 Office Space: Standard, Non-standard, and Flexible Space for Work Ideas about morphogenesis in housing can also be extended to office buildings. In this domain, too, the form of buildings results from the interaction of internal and external logics. Internal logics are linked to the addition and combination of spatial types, and to the assimilation of functional and programmatic criteria; external logics respond to the constraints of urban form itself, whether these result from regulatory frameworks or an urban project.

Vennes 3 Lausanne, Switzerland

Rue de la Galaise Plan-les-Ouates, Switzerland

Types of space In our work we have proposed types of office space which are typically found in tertiary programs: the cellular office, the group office, the combined office, and the open-plan office. The repetition and combination of these types of office space is what defines the character of each administrative building. The layout of individual or group offices on a linear scheme can produce compact, rational plans, like for example Vennes 3 (2007–09), the extension of which leads to barre buildings, either singular, like Route de Berne 46 (2001–05), or combined, resulting in more complex forms, like Rue de la Galaise (2011) and Bobst Headquarters, with the jump in scale leading to typological variety. The juxtaposition of individual offices with combined offices, or even open-space offices, is the most common situation, also the one that best suits the various ways in which administrative and creative work is organised today, as well as guaranteeing flexibility of use over time. Our projects for Entre-DeuxVille (2010), Vennes 3, and the Banco Ciudad Headquarters (2010) illustrate this situation. More unusual are programs that call for only one type of office, whether individual, like Route de Berne 46, or open-space as with the IMD Nestlé Building (2002–06).

“Because of the rise of individualism in society, the subject of spatial diversity in multi-storey apartment buildings is enjoying a renaissance. ... The trick is to translate the diversity of sizes, layouts, and forms within a property into a coherent whole, so that the building volume does not disintegrate into an arbitrary hodgepodge because of all its ‘individuality’,” Ebner, Herrmann, Höllbacher, Kuntscher, Wietzorrek, Typology+Innovative Residential Architecture, 118.

12

192

Type and form The combination of individual offices and open-space areas raises the question of the building depth and, as a corollary, the optimisation of natural light in a deep building; in spite of the generalisation of computer work stations, positions by windows remain the most popular. In the case of medium- to large-scale floors, the plan form can be inflected to bring natural light deep into the building, as we did with Swisscom Prilly (2011) and Banco Ciudad Headquarters; unfolded in order to spread out a relatively narrow strip, like Rue de la Galaise; or hollowed-out in order to create spaces that bring light into an atrium like the Golay Buchel Headquarters (1991– 97), the EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation, Banco Ciudad Headquarters, and the WCC Campus (2011–12), a closed courtyard like the Kudelski Headquarters (2008), Delta Project, and Bobst Headquarters, or an open courtyard like Entre-Deux-Villes and OMPI-WIPO (2000). In several projects, the form results from a desire for the building to engage in a dialogue with its surroundings. For example, the projects for the EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation (2006–11) and the WCC Campus propose simple, compact forms (cubes, cylinders) freely laid out in a park, as if on a campus. Banco Ciudad Headquarters, responds to the orthogonality of the urban fabric on its south side, while the opposite facade yields to embrace an extension of the public park; on the other hand, Propriété Bellerive in Rolle derives its low, organic form from the need and desire to merge with the site and be open to the landscape. Flexibility, formal and informal The importance of flexibility in the design of office space is well established. This constitutes a prerequisite for any project and is expressed by modular systems in terms of the constructive network (structure, partitioning, facades) and technology. Flexibility in terms of the potential for modifying or combining modules (opening and merging of individual spaces as group open-plan spaces) is key. The evolution of modes of teamwork leads to a new approach to the relation between formal (individual or group) working spaces and informal spaces of encounter and exchange. For example, in the layout of the building for Logitech Corporation in the EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation, spaces for meeting and informal work and for the stimulation of interpersonal relations and creativity open off the atrium, reinforcing its character as the building’s central, defining public space. Type, Professional Practice, and Social Practice The projects presented here all explore permanent, recurring themes in the design of dwellings and office space. For dwellings, that involves access and paths toward, through, and between buildings, interpersonal relations in the neighbourhood and within the building, management of relations between private and public areas, individual and community, the answer to the inhabitant’s search for meaning and need for comfort and safety, and the dwelling’s relation to its environment. For office space, it entails equilibrium between served and servant spaces, the relation between individual and group work, between communication and withdrawal, and modularity as an answer to the need for flexibility. Each building aims for coherence in its particular articulation of these themes, the combination of which is a response to the particular context of the project, its program, situation, and public. When a given theme is emphasised, it is not to the detriment of another aspect or another quality. In the best cases, several qualities will be expressed simultaneously, their congruence helping to enrich the project, as for example with the Quartier des Uttins, La Verrière, L’Îlot-du-Centre, and others. As we have learned from the history of housing since the turn of the century, in itself housing is not a field of radical innovation.13 It is a field in which innovation springs from the exploration of nuances. In the tertiary sector, although the dynamic of functional change is more pronounced, and in spite of research and reflection on new forms of work and their incorporation in the architectural project, real typological innovation is a slow process. As we have seen, the typological approach proceeds by breaking up reality then recomposing its object of study by bringing the different elements into relation. It offers an approach to the complexity of the system of architecture, a system in which internal relations and the interactions among elements are ultimately more important than the constitutive elements themselves. In an effort to distill the nature of our architecture, one could say that this relational process reveals the principle on which our practice is founded: balance, between the technical and the economic (professionalism), the social and the functional (service), the symbolic and the aesthetic (beauty).

This invokes the paradigmatic example of the concept of the “bande active” developed by Yves Lion in his project Domus demain of 1984, a radical idea which was met with numerous obstacles and thus led to more “conventional” solutions. See Jean-Michel Léger, Yves Lion – Logements avec architecte (Paris: Créaphis Editions, 2006), 76.

13

TYPOLOGY

Type Studies Christian Leibbrandt

194

HOUSING ATRIUM

La Verrière A Location: Montreux Dates: 2001–2005 Floor area: 714 m² Levels: 7

TERRACED HOUSING

En Vassin F Location: La Tour-de-Peilz Dates: 2010 Floor area: 471 m² Levels: 7

Chemin de Montelly Location: Lausanne Dates: 2013 Floor area: 443 m² Levels: 7

En Vassin E Location: La Tour-de-Peilz Dates: 2010 Floor area: 1,370 m² Levels: 5

Les Terrasses de Villette Location: Villette Dates: 2010–2013 Floor area: 1,963 m² Levels: 3

Chemin de la Crétaz Location: Chernex Dates: 2004–2008 Floor area: 360 m² Levels: 4

Torre Bajo Belgrano Location: Buenos Aires Dates: 2011 Floor area: 340 m² Levels: 22

Rives de Chamblandes B Location: Pully Dates: 2007 Floor area: 400 m² Levels: 4

En Vassin D Location: La Tour-de-Peilz Dates: 2010 Floor area: 475 m² Levels: 5

En Vassin C Location: La Tour-de-Peilz Dates: 2010 Floor area: 457 m² Levels: 4

Tour de l'Esplanade Location: Fribourg Dates: 2012 Floor area: 846 m² Levels: 2

Chemin de la Venoge Location: Saint-Sulpice Dates: 2012 Floor area: 608 m² Levels: 3

Avenue de Tivoli Location: Lausanne Dates: 2012–2014 Floor area: 600 m² Levels: 7

La Verrière B Location: Montreux Dates: 2001–2005 Floor area: 670 m² Levels: 8

Champs-Meunier Nord Location: Le Mont-sur-Lausanne Dates: 2009–2013 Floor area: 555 m² Levels: 3

Clos d´Asper A, B Location: Aubonne Dates: 2004–2009 Floor area: 1,111 m² Levels: 3

Champs-Meunier Sud Location: Le Mont-sur-Lausanne Dates: 2010-2014 Floor area: 726 m² Levels: 3

Centre La Sallaz D Location: Lausanne Dates: 2009 Floor area: 982 m² Levels: 4

Avenue de Sainte-Luce Location: Lausanne Dates: 2012–2015 Floor area: 895 m² Levels: 6

Les Uttins E Location: Rolle Dates: 2000–2004 Floor area: 962 m² Levels: 5

Barre

Espacité Location: La Chaux-de-Fonds Dates: 1987–1995 Floor area: 1,456 m² Levels: 6

Parc Gustave et Léonard Hentsch, Pic-Pic Extension Location: Geneva Dates: 2010-2014 Floor area: 1,233 m² Levels: 10

L’Îlot-du-Centre A Location: Lausanne Dates: 2006–2011 Floor area: 1,518 m² Levels: 10

Parc Gustave et Léonard Hentsch, LMI Building Location: Geneva Dates: 2011 Floor area: 2,330 m² Levels: 9

Quartier des Cèdres Location: Chavannes-près-Renens Dates: 2010–2016 Floor area: 1,874 m² Levels: 6

Les Planches Location: Épalinges Dates: 2012 Floor area: 900m² Levels: 5

Les Uttins F Location: Rolle Dates: 2003–2005 Floor area: 1,343 m² Levels: 4

Les Uttins G Location: Rolle Dates: 2005–2007 Floor area: 1,613 m² Levels: 5

Les Moulins Rod Location: Orbe Dates: 2011 Floor area: 946 m² Levels: 5

BCV Prilly Location : Prilly Dates: 1990–1995 Floor area: 817 m² Levels: 7

195

PLOT

Centre La Sallaz C Location: Lausanne Dates: 2009 Floor area: 298 m² Levels: 4

Chemin des Bosquets Location: Pully Dates: 2013–2015 Floor area: 256 m² Levels: 5

Chemin de Davel Location: Pully Dates: 2010–2013 Floor area: 205 m² Levels: 4

L’Îlot-du-Centre B Location: Lausanne Dates: 2006–2011 Floor area: 292 m² Levels: 6

Shamrock Location: Pully Dates: 1996–1997 Floor area: 405 m² Levels: 4

Les Morettes Location: Le Mont-sur-Lausanne Dates: 2012 Floor area: 428 m² Levels: 4

Rives de Chamblandes A Location: Pully Dates: 2007 Floor area: 565 m² Levels: 4

Trait-Planches Location: Montreux Dates: 2009–2014 Floor area: 500 m² Levels: 7

Les Uttins D Location: Rolle Dates: 2000–2002 Floor area: 446 m² Levels: 4

Grand-Pré Sud Location: Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne Dates: 2012–2014 Floor area: 318 m² Levels: 3

Les Fiches Nord Location: Lausanne-Vennes Dates: 2011–2015 Floor area: 388 m² Levels: 5

En Vassin B Location: La Tour-de-Peilz Dates: 2010 Floor area: 481 m² Levels: 4

En Vassin A Location: La Tour-de-Peilz Dates: 2010 Floor area: 456 m² Levels: 4

Chemin des Peupliers Location: Pully Dates: 2010–2013 Floor area: 591 m² Levels: 5

Les Planches Location: Épalinges Dates: 2012 Floor area: 439 m² Levels: 4

T-SHAPED

L-SHAPED

Avenue de Gilamont Location: Vevey Dates: 2010-2015 Floor area: 1,311 m² Levels: 6

Avenue de Béthusy Location: Lausanne Dates: 2007–2009 Floor area: 383 m² Levels: 5

TOWNHOUSE

SWHome® Valmont Location: Lausanne Dates: 1997–2000 Floor area: 265 m² Levels: 3

URBAN VILLA

Chemin du Liseron Location: Lausanne-Ouchy Dates: 2007–2009 Floor area: 461 m² Levels: 2

Champ-Chamot Location: Belmont-sur-Lausanne Dates: 1995 Floor area: 290 m² Levels: 3

Chemin de Chamblandes Location: Pully Dates: 2007-2008 Floor area: 158 m² Levels: 5

Dos Patios Location: Buenos Aires Dates: 2008–2010 Floor area: 130 m² Levels: 5

Rue du Jura 9-11 Location: Lausanne Dates: 2012–2015 Floor area: 783 m² Levels: 6

Cité Derrière Location: Lausanne Dates: 1990 Floor area: 760 m² Levels: 4

URBAN INFILL

Rue de l’Avenir Location: Morges Dates: 2010–2013 Floor area: 304 m² Levels: 5

Au Pré-du-Canal Location: Yverdon-les-Bains Dates: 1994–2000 Floor area: 1,105 m² Levels: 5

Im Forster “Le Garage” Location: Zürich Dates: 2007–2011 Floor area: 587 m² Levels: 3

196

ATRIUM

BARRE

B C A

L’Îlot-du-Centre Chemin La Verrièredu Liseron

Champs-Meunier Nord Rue de l’Avenir

5m m

L’Îlot-du-Centre Avenue Dos Patios de Tivoli

Parc Gustave et Léonard Hentsch, LMI Building

Avenue de Tivoli

9.5 m 11.5 m 14 m 16 m

14 m 15.5 m

16 m 16.5 m

14 m 14.8 m

14.5 m 17 m

14.5 m 16.5 m

197

BARRE / PLOT

g

Chemin Champs-Meunier Avenue de la deCrétaz Tivoli Nord Trait-Planches

Quartier L’Îlot-du-Centre Parc Gustave desNord Cèdres et Léonard Hentsch, LMI Building Les Fiches

Trait-Planches

Les Fiches Nord

Trait-Planches

Chemin deSud la Crétaz Grand-Pré

Avenue Quartierde des Tivoli Cèdres

Parc Gu

Grand-Pré Sud

Les Fiches Nord

Grand-Pré Sud

9.5 m 11.5 m 14.5 m 15.5 m

14.5 m 18.5 m 18.5 m 18.5 m

14.8 m 16.5 m 24 m 24 m 24 m

21.5 m 21.5 m 21.5 m

12 m 16 m 17 m 18 m

14 14.5 m 16 m

m

14.5 m

12 m 16.5 m 18 m

14.816 mm 17 m

198

ARTICULATED PLOT

PLOT

A

Les Fiches Nord Les Uttins DD Les Les Uttins Uttins D

Trait-Planches Trait-Planches Grand-Pré Trait-Planches Sud

18.5 18.5 18.5 mm m

21.5 m 22 22m 22 mm

Les Les Les Fiches Fiches Fiches Nord Nord Nord

21.5 21.5 21.5 mm m 24 24m 24 mm

Grand-Pré Grand-Pré Grand-Pré CheminSud Sud des Sud Peupliers

La Verrière

199

L-shapeD

TOWNHOUSE

URBAN INFILL

BB CC AA

Avenue Avenue de de Béthusy Béthusy Chemin Chemin des des Peupliers Peupliers

99mm

Chemin Chemin du duLiseron Liseron LaLaVerrière Verrière

Champs-Meunier Champs-Meunier Nord Nord Rue Ruededel’Avenir l’Avenir

L’Îlot-du-Centre L’Îlot-du-Centre Dos DosPatios Patios

9.5 9.5mm

10.5 10.5mm 11.5 11.5mm 14 14mm 15.5 15.5mm

1414mm 1616mm

200

La Verrière, Montreux, Switzerland, 2001–2005 2 residential buildings, 37 apartments, and renovation of an historic building, with 9 townhouses and shops Type: Atrium / Plot, Barre Total floor area: 11,000 m2

Rue de l'Ancien

The residential complex La Verrière is situated near the western gateway to the city, across from Le Montreux Palace, crown jewel among the city’s hotels, the Centre de Congrès et d’Expositions, and the Auditorium Stravinsky.

Rue de l'Ancien

Chemin

The project involved the construction of two new buildings as well as the renovation of an existing nineteenth-century masonry structure and an old greenhouse, or winter garden, from which the name “La Verrière” derives. The renovated building accommodates housing and commercial space, while the two new residential buildings inserted between the street and the railroad tracks bordering the parcel to the north contain upscale apartments.

de la Chaumeny

Chemin de la Rue du Cygne

Chaumeny

B

des Avenue

The perimeter of the atrium is constructed of glass bricks, bringing natural light into the circulation spaces of each apartment, and making visible the movement of other inhabitants through an intriguing play of light and shadow. The main facade facing the lake is entirely glazed, and equipped with horizontal louvers mounted floor to floor on the outer edges of the balconies. Playing on conventional rapports between interior and exterior, these contribute a sense of lightness to the street elevation.

C

Rue du Cygne

The new volumes, constructed in brick and glass, are anchored in the slope and supported on the street side on a series of concrete pilotis. The project for the principal building takes up the theme of the atrium house, exploring an alternative to the traditional typology of apartments on a single level by varying the height of floors in relation to the functions and proportions of the spaces. The articulation among elements of differing height constitutes the main theme of the research here. Oriented toward the lake, the living rooms have a generous ceiling height, while the rooms to the sides and rear – bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and dining rooms – have standard ceiling heights. The atrium facilitates the connection and integration of the L-shaped apartments (in both plan and section) into a compact volume.

A des Avenue

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L’Îlot-du-Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2006–2011 4 buildings, 139 apartments Type: Barre, Plot Total floor area: 13,650 m2

This apartment complex is situated between Place Saint-François, in the center of Lausanne, and the railway station, on a parcel zoned for contiguous construction in accordance with the General Land Use Plan (Plan Général d’Affectation, PGA) for the city. The ensemble consists of four housing blocks, with a barre building and three plots containing apartments with one to four bedrooms. The barre running parallel to rue Beau-Séjour takes its expression from the built front of the contiguous order along this part of the street, and contains the greatest number of apartments. Just below the barre, on an esplanade running through the site alongside private gardens, the three plots respond to the dispersed character of the existing buildings they face to the south. The ensemble is linked underground by a single floor that houses service areas and parking. The urban project derives its coherence and distinctiveness from the access system as well as the public and semi-public outdoor spaces linking the ensemble to the surrounding urban fabric. To the west, the building is set back to create a public square that connects rue Beau-Séjour with rue de la Grotte which follows the slope down toward the station and Lake Geneva. At the heart of the ensemble, the esplanade links the buildings and forms an intermediate space for leisure and social exchange.

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Quartier des Uttins, Rolle, Switzerland, 1998–2009 4 residential buildings: Les Uttins D, 25 apartments; Les Uttins E, 18 apartments; Les Uttins F, 28 apartments; Les Uttins G, 37 apartments, 3 office buildings and a parking garage

Type: Barre, Plot Total floor area: 5,352 m2

The quarter known as Les Uttins occupies a large parcel bordered by a thick row of trees, just a short distance from the historic center of the medieval town of Rolle, on the northwestern shore of Lake Geneva between Nyon and Lausanne. A

Actively conforming with the Plan de Quartier designation of Les Uttins for mixed-use, four residential buildings and three administrative buildings comprising this ensemble were positioned on the perimeter of the parcel and along the edge of an access path, freeing up two large green spaces for public use. Space devoted to residential use comprises a total of 108 apartments, while the three administrative buildings house 6,500 square metres of office space. The four residential buildings develop variants on the barre building type: from the barre articulated in plan and section (buildings E and G), via the barre with setbacks (buildings F and G), to the hybrid type (building D). The three elements of building D are linked by terraces presenting a continuous facade fronting on the park, which is read on the street front as the articulation of three blocks expressing the porosity of the urban fabric toward the park. Built between 2000 and 2009, the buildings each present different characteristics (size, form, position on the site, function), the relationship among them manifesting itself mainly through the coherence of access systems and the unity of materials. The dominance of red brick and grey or white concrete confers a strong identity on the ensemble as a whole.

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Les Fiches Nord, Lausanne-Vennes, Switzerland, 2011–2015 4 buildings, 67 rent-controlled apartments Type: Plot Total floor area: 5,050 m2

Located near the northern entrance to the city of Lausanne and close to an M2 Metro station and parking garage, the quarter known as Les Fiches Nord initially comprised 30 residential buildings with office space and a retirement home. Built by the Caisse de Pensions du Personnel Communal de Lausanne in parallel with another project on a similar scale nearby, the housing developed by RDR involved four buildings with rent-controlled apartments of two, three, and four bedrooms, including 17 apartments designed and reserved for elderly occupants. At once dense and open, the urban form proposed here produced a tightening that engendered an inversion of the figure-ground relation, illustrating the concept of a “density of emptiness.” Four masonry volumes on a polygonal plan, whose compactness is attenuated by corner loggias and the splaying of the openings, are anchored in the ground. Respecting the principles of a “charte urbanistique,” or urban charter for the neighbourhood, they are are laid out in alignment with the street, the Plan Général d’Affectation (PGA) or general land use plan for Lausanne having determined general characteristics such as size, volumetrics, and the distance between structures. The forms of the buildings, derived from the orthogonal volumes illustrated in the charte urbanistique, seek to create staggered views and avoid windows facing one another.

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Avenue de Béthusy, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2007–2009 1 building, 21 apartments Type: L-shaped / Townhouse Total floor area: 2,096 m2

Inserted between the Collège de Béthusy and Place de l’Ours station on the M2 line of the Lausanne Metro, the building is inscribed in a very tight space, on a long, narrow urban parcel perpendicular to one of the principal avenues running through the city. The building is composed of two volumes articulated on an L-shaped plan comprising rental apartments, of which 11 are small, one-bedroom units, and 10 have two or three bedrooms each. The ground floor on Avenue de Béthusy houses a shop and offices. In response to the urban character of the site and the very particular shape of the parcel, the project proposes a combination of two access systems: a central core embedded within the compact building aligned with Avenue de Béthusy contains an elevator shaft and stairwell serving two apartments per floor, while two closed corridors aligned with the longitudinal edges of the parcel serve two superposed rows of small townhouses. This hybrid system leads to a variety of spatial situations and different types of apartments. Following the slope of the land, the lateral volume is set back, freeing terraces to become hanging gardens.

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SWHome® Housing System, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1990–1995 Prototype for a flexible modular housing concept

Prototype

SWHome® – or Swiss Home – was the winning project for the EUROPAN 1 competition on the theme of Évolution des Modes de Vie et Architectures du Logement (Evolution of Modes of Life and the Architectures of Housing) in 1988–89. The concept was developed in response to an emerging building crisis, with the expressed goal of promoting a modular, flexible, and easily convertible “do-it-yourself” mode of single-family housing. However, given the social and economic forces in play at the time, the enquiry led to experimental projects for collective living, the SWHome® Housing System. RDR explored the potential of the SWHome® system through the first half of the 1990s, seeking concrete solutions to reconcile the desire for openplan dwellings, allowing inhabitants the freedom to adapt living spaces to their individual lifestyles despite the limitations of standardisation and industrialisation that determine construction practices. Research related to SWHome® went beyond fundamental architectural and technical concerns, leading to a reconsideration of the housing production process, including the roles played by various actors: inhabitants, architects, engineers, material suppliers, builders, and developers. In collaboration with contractors, for example, construction methods and materials were reconsidered, and ideas about alternative modes of building for new ways of living were generated. This led to questions about how standardised production and commercial distribution could be made to facilitate not just “bottom line” but optimum housing construction.

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The notion of “flexibility” was paramount in the development of the SWHome® apartment typology. Inside the volume of each apartment, structural elements were carefully positioned, while mechanical systems and conduits of all kinds were integrated into party walls, allowing for partitions and floors to be modified at will. Each unit thus has the capacity to evolve over time as interior spaces are transformed and adapted to the changing needs of inhabitants. The horizontal and vertical network of exterior circulation allows for modular elements to be easily reconfigured, making it possible for diverse architectural and urban patterns to emerge from the deployment of a single construction system, while a wide range of cladding materials express the individual character of each housing unit. Among other projects based on this research, one was developed for Uitikon-Waldegg (Zürich) in 1994 in response to an invited competition. Built projects include the twin villas of SWHome® Chailly (1995–96), and the three residential buildings of SWHome® Valmont (1997–2000), both in Lausanne.

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Avenue de Sainte-Luce Location: Lausanne Dates: 2012–2015 Unit floor area: 90 m²

L’Îlot-du-Centre A Location: Lausanne Dates: 2006–2011 Unit floor area: 112 m² Pages: 108, 152, 204

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La Verrière B Location: Montreux Dates: 2001–2005 Unit floor area: 216 m² Pages: 102, 158, 200, 304

La Verrière B Location: Montreux Dates: 2001–2005 Unit floor area: 103 m² Pages: 102, 158, 200, 304

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Les Terrasses de Villette Location: Villette Dates: 2010–2013 Unit floor area: 200 m²

Les Terrasses de Villette Location: Villette Dates: 2010–2013 Unit floor area: 132 m²

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Les Uttins D Location: Rolle Dates: 2000–2002 Unit floor area: 135 m² Pages: 100, 208

Les Uttins F Location: Rolle Dates: 2003–2005 Unit floor area: 126 m² Pages: 100, 208

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Shamrock Location: Pully Dates: 1996–1997 Unit floor area: 140 m²

La Verrière A Location: Montreux Dates: 2001–2005 Unit floor area: 305 m² Pages: 102, 158, 200, 304

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Les Fiches Nord Location: Lausanne-Vennes Dates: 2011–2015 Unit floor area: 104 m² Page: 212

Rives de Chamblandes A Location: Pully Dates: 2007 Unit floor area: 192 m²

Chemin des Bosquets Location: Pully Dates: 2013–2015 Unit floor area: 189 m²

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Casa José Ignacio, Rocha, Uruguay, 2008–2009 Private Client

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Casa La Hilaria, Punta del Este, Uruguay, 2007 Private Client

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Villa de l’Est Lausannois, Vaud, Switzerland, 2010–2012

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Villa Bosquets, Pully, Switzerland, 2010–2012 Private Client

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Im Forster “Le Garage,” Zürich, Switzerland, 2007–2011

im foster 1 residential building, 3 apartments im foster

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Refuge

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Forest Refuge, Vallée de Joux, Switzerland, 1991–1996 Prototype for a wilderness shelter

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OFFICE SPACE

La Nación Location: Buenos Aires Dates: 2008 Total floor area: 11,998 m²

Kudelski Headquarters Location: Cheseaux Dates: 2008 Total floor area: 16,254 m²

Delta Project Location: Crissier Dates: 2008 Total floor area: 17,436 m²

Plan-les-Ouates, Rue de la Galaise Location: Plan-les-Ouates (Geneva) Dates: 2011 Total floor area: 22,515 m²

IMD Nestlé Building Location: Lausanne Dates: 2002–2006 Total floor area: 1,515 m²

Propriété Bellerive Location: Rolle Dates: 2011 Total floor area: 5,593 m²

EPFL Quartier de I’Innovation Location: Écublens Dates: 2006–2011 Total floor area: 4,403 m²

Banco Galicia Buenos Aires Location: Buenos Aires Dates: 2011 Total floor area: 27,800 m²

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Route de Berne 46 Location: Lausanne Dates: 2001–2005 Total floor area: 4,700 m²

Vennes 3 Location: Lausanne Dates: 2007–2009 Total floor area: 2,980 m²

Swisscom Prilly Location: Prilly Dates: 2011 Total floor area: 11,055 m²

Banco Ciudad Headquarters Location: Buenos Aires Dates: 2010 Total floor area: 18,905 m²

Golay Buchel Headquarters Location: Lausanne Dates: 1991–1997 Total floor area: 3,450 m²

OMPI-WIPO Location: Geneva Dates: 2000 Total floor area: 13,650 m²

EOS Headquarters Location: Lausanne Dates: 1991–1995 Total floor area: 4,700 m²

WCC Campus Location: Grand-Saconnex (Geneva) Dates: 2011–2012 Total floor area: 16,200 m²

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IMD Nestlé Building Location: Lausanne IMD Nestlé Building Dates: 2002–2006 Location: Floor area:Lausanne 460 m² Dates: 2002–2006 Floor area: 460 m²

Vennes 3 Location: Lausanne Vennes 3 Dates: 2007–2009 Location: Floor area:Lausanne 745 m² Dates: 2007–2009 Floor area: 745 m²

Route de Berne 46 Location: Lausanne Route Berne 46 Dates: de 2001–2005 Location: Floor area:Lausanne 1,120 m² Dates: 2001–2005 Floor area: 1,120 m²

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Golay Buchel Headquarters Location: Lausanne Dates: Buchel 1991–1997 Golay Headquarters Floor area:Lausanne 1,150 m² Location: Dates: 1991–1997 Floor area: 1,150 m²

EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation Location: Écublens Dates: 2006–2011 EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation Floor area:Écublens 918 m² Location: Dates: 2006–2011 Floor area: 918 m²

WCC Campus Location: Grand-Saconnex (Geneva) Dates: 2011–2012 WCC Campus Floor area:Grand-Saconnex 2,314 m² Location: (Geneva) Dates: 2011–2012 Floor area: 2,314 m²

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Swisscom Prilly Location: Prilly Dates: 2011 Floor area: 2,211 m²

Banco Ciudad Headquarters Location: Buenos Aires Dates: 2010 Floor area: 3,871 m²

Entre-Deux-Villes Location: La Tour-de-Peilz Dates: 2010 Floor area: 2,642 m²

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Kudelski Headquarters Location: Cheseaux Dates: 2008 Floor area: 5,418 m²

Delta Project Location: Crissier Dates: 2008 Floor area: 2,906 m²

Plan-les-Ouates, Rue de la Galaise Location: Plan-les-Ouates (Geneva) Dates: 2011 Floor area: 4,503 m²

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Route de Berne 46, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2001–2005 Office building Type: Barre Total floor area: 4,700 m2

This building is situated close to the Lausanne-Vennes highway junction, along one of the main roads leading into the city from the north. The western edge of the site aligns with Route de Berne, while to the east, the site slopes down toward a neighbouring residential complex of relatively low density. The program comprises 3,700 square metres of office space spanning three floors and an attic. The ground floor is dedicated to reception, meeting rooms, and a cafeteria, while the basement houses a parking garage, technical spaces, and archival storage. The building conforms to the volumetric constraints of a specific land use plan for its site, the Plan de Quartier, which defined the maximum height and dimensions. With a building depth of 20 metres, the compact, rational plan combines two rows of individual offices ranged along the two longitudinal facades separated by a sequence of service areas in the core of the building, a common type for office buildings. A slight shift in this typical plan produced a volumetric articulation that led to the western facade taking on an independent expression with respect to the other three elevations. The facade on Route de Berne was conceived as a glass skin protected by a series of custom-designed and custom-built louvers creating a highly emblematic elevation consistent with its prominent urban situation. A mandatory setback at the southwest corner differentiated this facade from the other three elevations in reinforced concrete, with horizontal strip windows opening onto the less developed context to the east where the descending topography opens up views beyond.

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IMD Nestlé Building, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2002–2006 Research building, teaching facilities, and an auditorium Type: Barre Total floor area: 1,515 m2

Situated in the northeast corner of the campus alongside the original villa constructed on this former residential estate, this is the third building conceived by RDR for the International Institute for Management Development. Distributed in a simple volume, the program comprises 975 square metres of work space on three floors, in addition to a large flat classroom on the ground floor which seats 40 to 50 persons. The layout of the building corresponds to the urban logic of the campus, with individual buildings carefully laid out in a park. The building plan expresses a clear distinction between served and servant spaces. An independent concrete service core concentrates vertical circulation and bathroom facilities, and provides the horizontal bracing for the steel structure of three floors of open-space research offices with only perimetral columns. The project expresses a rare congruence between type and architectural expression, between functional organisation and volumetric expression.

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Banco Ciudad Headquarters, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2010 Project for a banking center Type: Atrium Total floor area: 18,905 m2

The project for the Banco Ciudad headquarters building in Buenos Aires occupies the center of a block facing the magnificent Parque Patricios in an urban quarter of the southern part of the city. The site is marked by the contrast between the park to the north and an unconsolidated neighbourhood of houses and light industry to the south. The construction of a public building constitutes an initial phase designed to restore a degraded urban fabric with considerable potential for densification. The program consists of an administrative headquarters for the bank with 1,600 work spaces, banking facilities, a restaurant for employees, and an auditorium for public events. The project proposes to lay out an iconic institutional edifice forming an urban frontage facing the park. On three sides it is integrated with the orthogonal urban grid, but the concave facade supports the transition from this fabric to the open space of the park. This gesture on the facade, complemented by the hollowing of the interior atrium spaces, makes it possible for the large open-space working areas to enjoy optimal natural light. The building rests on a base that houses functions accessible to the public. Its volume ensures the transition between the building and the urban fabric at the ground floor. The great concave facade responds to the adjacent park with its trees, which conversely extends into the hollow of the building in the form of a more intimate garden for the enjoyment of the bank’s employees and customers.

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La Nación, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2008 Project for an administrative center for newspaper offices Type: Tower Total floor area: 11,998 m2

This project for an administrative center for the daily newspaper La Nación is situated in the town of Vicente Lopez, in the province of Buenos Aires, near Rio de la Plata, on a parcel comprising a strategic urban void bordering the Capital Federal, and surrounded by unarticulated and disparate urban fabric. The program comprises a 3,300 square metres shopping mall and 107,700 square metres of office space, including the newspaper’s administrative offices. The base, which houses the shopping mall, provides the link between the surrounding urban fabric and the park along the Rio de la Plata in the form of pedestrian circulation. The project is based on three compact towers mounted on a socle that occupies a gap in the urban fabric between the city and the river. The fragmentation of this particularly dense program is decisive for the project’s urban presence. The solution proposed ensures sufficient permeability to avoid any excessive visual impact due to the scale of the complex. The volumetric approach that was proposed pursues a delicate balance between the unity of the project and the independence of its respective parts.

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OTHER PROGRAMS

Hardturm Stadium Location: Zürich Dates: 2012 Program: Stadium Total floor area: 21,585 m²

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center Location: Écublens Dates: 2008–2013 Program: Conference facilities with flexible auditoriums and meeting spaces, with seating for up to 3,000 in the main auditorium Total floor area: 14,164 m²

Aquatis Location: Lausanne-Vennes Dates: 2005–2016 Program: New aquarium, water museum, and the relocated Vivarium Total floor area: 50,895 m²

CFF Train Maintenance Center Location: Geneva Dates: 1995–1999 Program: Swiss Train Maintenance Center Total floor area: 11,000 m²

Quartier Erlenmatt Location: Basel Dates: 2008 Program: Project for a commercial center, with conference facilities, hotel, public spaces, and parking Total floor area: 25,000 m²

Clinique La Prairie Location: Clarens-Montreux Dates: 2001–2005 Program: New spa facilities and wellness center, with a new entrance hall and restaurant Total floor area: 7,320 m²

Les Bains de Saillon Location: Saillon Dates: 2009–2015 Program: New hotel with 80 rooms, spa facilities, and a restaurant Total floor area: 11,203 m²

Bobst Headquarters Location: Mex Dates: 2008–2012 Program: Administrative center and showroom building, restaurant, and extension of production facility Total floor area: 10,892 m²

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IMD Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center Location: Lausanne Dates: 2005-2008 Program: Teaching facilities including lecture halls and seminar rooms, an auditorium, and a cafeteria Total floor area: 4,975 m²

IMD New Meeting Place Location: Lausanne Dates: 2002–2005 Program: Extension of campus restaurant Total floor area: 2,100 m²

MCBA Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts Location: Lausanne Dates: 2004–2005 Program: Project for a new museum building in Bellerive Total floor area: 8,250 m²

EIG École Internationale de Genève, Saconnex Campus Location: Geneva Dates: 2000 Program: Project for a primary and secondary school Total floor area: 13,650 m²

Nestlé WellNes Centre Location: Vevey Dates: 2005–2008 Program: Corporate restaurants and cafeteria on 2 floors, self-service dining for 620, table service for 150, a cafeteria, and a fitness center Total floor area: 4,510 m²

Archivo General de la Nación Location: Buenos Aires Dates: 2012 Program: Project for archive building Total floor area: 35,000 m²

École de Copet Location: Vevey Dates: 2012 Program: Project for a primary school Total floor area: 15,415 m²

IMD Executive Learning Center Location: Lausanne Dates: 1999–2002 Program: Teaching facilities, meeting rooms, and 2 auditoriums Total floor area: 6,140 m²

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IMD Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2005–2008 Teaching facilities including lecture halls and seminar rooms, an auditorium, and a cafeteria Type: Plot / Atrium Total floor area: 4,975 m2

Situated on a tree-lined avenue running along the shore of Lake Geneva at the southern entrance to the city of Lausanne, the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center is the fourth building conceived by RDR for the campus of the International Institute for Management Development. The building houses a 350-seat auditorium, lecture halls, seminar rooms, a cafeteria, and an underground parking garage. Flanked by meeting rooms, small lecture halls of varying sizes which are flexible and adaptable to different functions have been ranged around the perimeter of the building on the first floor. A patio on the upper level and a covered atrium bring natural light into the heart of a building of considerable depth. The building responds to the Plan Partiel d’Affectation (PPA), or development plan for the former residential estate Campagne des Cèdres, defining the volume of the building, its position, and its height. The result is a deep plan, 44 by 49 metres, in which circulation and social spaces are organised around the patio on the upper level and the atrium that extends from the upper level to the ground floor. Floating over a half-submerged concrete base, the first floor takes the form of a freestanding structure surmounted by a network of triangulated steel beams which emerge on the roof. Transferring the static height onto the roofing compensates for the very limited size of the structure. This innovative static system satisfies one of the conditions imposed by the brief, which called for flexible teaching spaces that could be adapted over time. Given this structural decision, the facades freely express the diversity of the interior spaces. The lower floor revetted in bush-hammered concrete overtly plays the role of base. The large glazed bay reveals the open spaces and cafeteria on the ground floor. The white facade in lacquered sheet metal affords a glimpse of the seminar rooms on the first floor. These successive layers with their banded apertures produce a dynamic, alternating effect in the composition of the facade.

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Bobst Headquarters, Mex, Switzerland, 2008–2012 Administrative center and showroom building, restaurant, and extension of production facility Type: Barre / Courtyard Total floor area: 10,892 m2

Since 1974, the Bobst Group SA, major producers of machinery for the manufacturing of packaging materials, has occupied a 29-hectare parcel in a bucolic setting to the west of greater Lausanne, straddling the three communes of Mex, Villars-Sainte-Croix, and Vufflens-la-Ville. In 2012, Bobst centralised all of its production activity on the site in Mex. At the entrance to the site, a new building was designed to accommodate 6,100 square metres of administrative office space and the Competence Center, and an exhibition hall and training facility spanning another 4,000 square metres. At the other end of the site, next to an existing sports field and facility, a second new building was designed to accommodate a restaurant and a day care center for up to 40 children, across from this, one of the production facilities was extended to increase factory space by 14,300 square metres. Situated at the end of the “Promenade des Alpes” laid out by L’Atelier du Paysage, which effectively functions as a “spinal column” structuring the site as a whole, the headquarters building becomes a horizontal reference embedded in the undulating landscape of the surrounding countryside, taking the form of a grand roof beneath which are sheltered the two key programs: administrative and staff offices with their conference rooms, and the vast Competence Center. The entrance hall, with its double-height atrium, connects the two parts of the building and offers views onto the two main functions: on one side the exhibition hall, and on the other, offices and public functions organised around a courtyard garden open to both the near and distant landscape. The relation to the landscape, one of the main themes of the project along with the handling of natural light, is also expressed in the choice of materials. The revetment of reflective stainless steel plates on the facade of the exhibition hall evokes a material used in the production that takes place on this site, projecting the image of both pastoral environment and industrial activity.

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IMD New Meeting Place, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2002–2005 Extension of campus restaurant Type: Organic Total floor area: 2,100 m2

This building, the second conceived for the International Institute for Management Development, occupies a site at the heart of the park-like IMD campus near the shore of Lake Geneva. Each of the projects RDR has conceived for the campus has been a response to the institution’s desire to improve its infrastructure and extend its campus in order to accommodate a growing student population. In particular, this project involved the renovation and extension of a dining facility that had been incorporated into the original stables building of this former residential estate. The extension is inserted between the two wings of the old U-shaped building, progressively opening toward the park and the campus. This gesture of insertion, anchorage, and unfolding defines the organic form of the building. In contrast with the masonry character of the original stables building, the new pavilion was conceived as a light, composite structure in steel and wood, sheltered by a deep overhang that accentuates the horizontal character of the intervention. The transparency of the facades makes it possible to see the park landscape on the other side of the pavilion. The internal spaces express a tension between the verticality of the slender wood brise-soleils that frame the windows, and the horizontal clearance created by the extension of the sheltering roof.

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Aquatis, Lausanne-Vennes, Switzerland, 2005–2016 New aquarium, water museum, and the relocated Vivarium Type: Plot, V-shaped Total floor area: 50,895 m²

The Aquatis complex is situated at the northern entrance to Lausanne, where the Route de Berne off-ramp of the main highway intersects with the M2 line of the Lausanne Metro. A veritable interface with the Metro, integrating the Vennes station, the program includes a Park+Ride complex accommodating 1,200 cars over three levels, covering the whole parcel following the contours of the highway off-ramp. On the roof, a platform is occupied by two buildings: a museum dedicated to global freshwater conservation and ecology, the relocated Vivarium, and a 143-room hotel with shops and commercial services. Following a logic of sustainable development, this urban ensemble prefigures the future city by meeting all of its fundamental needs: transportation, dining, hospitality, culture, and social space. It partakes of the contemporary approach to transportation hubs (railway and metro stations as well as airports), whereby the mixing of functions spurs their development as full-fledged parts of the city. The architectural concept for the complex places emphasis on the principal element, the water museum building, whose organic form endows it with a unique identity and a symbolic value equal to its pedagogical ambitions.

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ENSEMBLES

WCC Campus Location: Grand-Saconnex (Geneva) Dates: 2011–2012 Total floor area: 57,791 m² COS: 0.32 CUS: 1.69

EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation Location: Écublens Dates: 2006–2011 Total floor area: 35,315 m² COS: 0.25 CUS: 1.08

Centre La Sallaz Location: Lausanne Dates: 2009 Total floor area: 26,283 m² COS: 0.19 CUS: 1.50

Nespresso Headquarters Location: Lausanne Dates: 2007 Total floor area: 12,807 m² COS: 0.24 CUS: 1.05

Champs-Meunier Nord Location: Le Mont-sur-Lausanne Dates: 2009–2013 Total floor area: 5,624 m² COS: 0.07 CUS: 0.20

Chemin des Bosquets Location: Pully Dates: 2013–2015 Total floor area: 1,756 m² COS: 0.2 CUS: 0.53

Les Fiches Nord Location: Lausanne-Vennes Dates: 2011–2015 Total floor area: 6,458 m² COS: 0.25 CUS: 1.50

Champs-Meunier Sud Location: Le Mont-sur-Lausanne Dates: 2010–2014 Total floor area: 6,071 m² COS: 0.06 CUS: 0.24

L’Îlot-du-Centre Location: Lausanne Dates: 2006–2011 Total floor area: 17,520 m² COS: 0.42 CUS: 2.99

Grand-Pré Sud Location: Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne Dates: 2012–2014 Total floor area: 4,838 m² COS: 0.20 CUS: 0.62

Trait-Planches Location: Montreux Dates: 2009–2014 Total floor area: 15,597 m² COS: 0.47 CUS: 2.28

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Au Pré-du-Canal Location: Yverdon-les-Bains Dates: 1994–2000 Total floor area: 49,830 m² COS: 0.40 CUS: 0.80

Quartier des Cèdres Location: Chavannes-près-Renens Dates: 2010–2016 Total floor area: 112,112 m² COS: 0.22 CUS: 1.30

Les Moulins Rod Location: Orbe Dates: 2011 Total floor area: 27,858 m² COS: 0.41 CUS: 1.90

En la Praz Location: Cugy Dates: 1993 Total floor area: 11,545 m² COS: 0.09 CUS: 0.32

Morges Gare Sud Location: Morges Dates: 2011 Total floor area: 74,750 m² COS: 0.46 CUS: 2.61

Quartier des Uttins Location: Rolle Dates: 2000–2007 Total floor area: 28,700 m² COS: 0.18 CUS: 0.56

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EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation, écublens, Switzerland, 2006–2011 8 research and laboratory buildings, public spaces, and two parking lots Type: Barre, Plot Total floor area: 35,315 m2

Forming the southwestern edge of the EPFL campus, the ensemble of buildings that comprise the Quartier de l’Innovation is integrated into the existing Parc Scientifique EPFL (PSE), completing this new area of the campus. The buildings were envisioned to provide work space for the research and creative teams of cutting-edge companies active in fields as diverse as information technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications. Up to 2,000 individual work spaces were created altogether. A public restaurant and a day care center augment other services available on the site. The urban form is essentially defined by voids. Two barre buildings housing laboratories conspire with the three existing buildings of the Parc Scientifique EPFL (PSE) to define the limits of the quarter, within which the six plots with atriums are freely deployed. The layout of the buildings allows for intersecting views of the rest of the EPFL campus as well as the landscape surrounding the lake and the Alps beyond. In the play of reflection and transparency, in the fluidity and openness to the outdoors, the glazed facades of this ensemble of buildings heighten the role of green spaces, while nonetheless enhancing the perception of built density. The sinuous and organic lines and relative wildness of the landscape project designed by L’Atelier du Paysage provocatively contrast with the volumetric rigor of the buildings themselves.

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Quartier des Cèdres, Chavannes-près-Renens, Switzerland, 2010–2016 Development of a mixed-use residential quarter with 6 buildings, 1st phase, 218 apartments, and 76 units of student housing

The parcel under development is situated at the western edge of the commune of Chavannes-près-Renens, halfway between the railway station of Renens and the Hautes Écoles – the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Université de Lausanne, (UNIL). The site is characterised by an ease of access and mobility for pedestrians, cyclists, and users of public transportation, as well as vehicular traffic. Benefiting from such favourable access and an interesting locale, the project envisions a new centrality in the Ouest Lausannois District, with the construction of housing for 1,600 new inhabitants, up to 1,000 new work spaces, and infrastructure for a density of 1.3 IUS. Affirming its strategic position, the plan for the mixed-use Quartier des Cèdres integrates a 140-metre-high tower, the visual mark of a developing territory. The network of public spaces defined by the two axes traversing the site organise its urban form. That is to say that the linear buildings underscore the urban character of the surrounding neighbourhood and follow the axes of circulation, while the more compact peripheral buildings are distributed in a park, with the tower in the middle ground, standing out as a territorial landmark at the scale of what Michel Bassand has called the “métropole lémanique.”

Type: Barre, Plot, Tower Total floor area: 112,112 m2 Number of units: 294

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Grand-Pré Sud, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland, 2012–2014 4 buildings, 51 rent-controlled apartments Type: Barre, Plot Total floor area: 4,838 m2

This housing ensemble is situated at the southeastern end of the commune, still in relative proximity to the center of the town. Bordered by the wooded banks of the Mèbre river, and also by a public thoroughfare linking the complex to the neighbouring quarter of Mon Repos, the site offers both a scenic locale (the regional railway notwithstanding) and efficiency in terms of accessibility. Built by the Société Coopérative d’Habitation Lausanne, the neighbourhood will offer 43 affordable rental units of one to three bedrooms each to accommodate families with children, and eight apartments designed and reserved for elderly residents in proximity to an Établissement MédicoSocial (EMS) offering social and medical services. The urban form, based on the precise positioning of the buildings on the site, illustrates the strategy of the project organised around an intermediate space. The layout of the buildings leads to the rational relation of views and clearances, both between buildings and toward the park and the wooded riverbank. The forms of the barre and three plots proposed are mirrored in two distinct kinds of housing: traversant apartments running laterally across the barre, and corner apartments with two or three facades installed in the plots. The expression of the wood facades strengthens the connection of this new neighbourhood to the nearby village, reflecting its rustic identity and character.

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Champs-Meunier Nord, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland, 2009–2013 5 buildings, 42 townhouses Type: Barre / Townhouse Total floor area: 57,791 m2

Situated in Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, a municipality to the north and just outside of Lausanne, close to the autoroute, this ensemble constitutes the first phase of a residential development that will eventually comprise 86 apartments distributed in eight buildings. Responding to the periurban character of the site, the project is conceived as a low-rise neighbourhood of five buildings comprising 28 threebedroom townhouses, and above them, 14 traversant apartments on the attic level. The layout of the two rows of buildings adapts to the slight slope of the site and accommodates two garages below ground level, with space for 63 cars. The five barre buildings composing the ensemble, face one another, defining a green space between them, in the center of which is a place for social encounter with benches and a pergola. A community garden where inhabitants can grow vegetables completes the amenities, reinforcing the vocation of these outdoor spaces as places of lively exchange.

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WCC Campus, Grand-Saconnex (Geneva), Switzerland, 2011–2012 Feasibility study for a chapel and administrative facilities, a conference center, hotel, and housing development Type: Plot, Cour: Atrium Total floor area: 57,791 m2

The site is a parcel lying to the south of the town of Grand-Saconnex, in the heart of Geneva’s International Organisations Quarter, halfway between the Geneva International Airport and the Palais des Nations. The project to enhance this site is part of a development strategy that aims to meet the growing need for work and meeting spaces felt by the many organisations located in the area, and proposes to create for them a new hub for work and exchange. The main aim of the feasibility study was to define guidelines for future reuse of the parcel and general parameters for the development of the site with a master plan establishing a division of the parcel into six sectors to be developed in phases. The project illustrating the feasibility proposes a series of cylindrical buildings laid out freely in a landscaped park. Each building is at once autonomous and part of a coherent ensemble that symbolises the site’s role as a space of encounter and intercultural dialogue. The abstraction of the cylindrical form expresses the open and flexible character of the program, while at the same time endowing the ensemble with a strong visual and urban identity.

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Temporality Ignacio Dahl Rocha

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On the Temporal Dimension Our experience with renovation projects represents an important chapter in our work. At the theoretical level, they have nourished our thinking about an issue we take to be important when it comes to understanding many aspects of our profession, and that is Time, or the temporal dimension of architecture. A central issue in relation to this theme is the capacity of architecture and the city to endure as physical and cultural entities, as witnesses to the continuity of the successive generations of a society. Running counter to this is the profusion of ephemera proliferated by the dynamic of perpetual novelty inherent in the fashion system, and in consumer culture in general. We share a vision of architecture which is conscious of these phenomena and takes a stand with respect to them, inasmuch as we are interested not only in the durability of the building or the urban fabric as physical objects, but also its aesthetic validity, which has to do with the neutrality and timelessness of architecture’s language and the quest for a way forward that does not refuse a dialogue with history. Concerns stemming from the broad notion of sustainable development, an increasingly significant domain, have also raised our awareness of the temporal dimension in architecture, placing emphasis on its technical aspects. Setting aside the controversy over whether it is the central issue or should be relegated to the status of a technical matter, the relatively recent focus on environmental sustainability has had impact on architecture at all levels and has led to the emergence of a veritable body of specific knowledge with a precise and urgent objective. Never before has architecture had to address its negative impact on the environment. As a complement to the scientific and technological advances it has spurred in diverse fields, we hope sustainable development will also take renewed advantage of the wisdom and common sense of vernacular building traditions. For architecture, one of the most important outcomes of the contemporary focus on sustainability has been to awaken us to the notion of time, expanding our consciousness and understanding of the construction process. Thus, we shift from viewing architecture as a relatively static event, limited to the conception and construction of a building, to a dynamic process that has a temporal dimension, from the traceability of the materials with which it is constructed, to control over the quality of its use, the resources necessary to its functioning, and the life cycle and final destination of each element that goes to form it. In that sense, we may see “renovation work” not so much as a category in and of itself, like the making of new buildings, but as one stage of an ineluctable cycle involving the whole process of construction. Following this logic, it is no surprise that conservation and renovation are rapidly and progressively being conceived as parameters or conditions belonging to the process of designing new buildings. However, it is important that the awareness of the temporal dimension promulgated by sustainable development not be limited to technical questions: it must also fully embrace architecture as a cultural fact. The Nestlé headquarters “En Bergère” in Vevey (1996–2000), our first intervention of any real consequence, was a rich and highly complex engagement that unfolded over time, enabling us to tackle the major issues inherent in the processes of renovation and transformation, issues which have continued to emerge in subsequent projects at all scales. In many ways, it became the “primer” for the other projects we undertook from that point onward, and we are still drawing upon the experience. Despite belonging to the heritage of modern architecture, the projects for Nestlé are inscribed within the long tradition of buildings and ensembles of buildings that are realised through successive interventions over time. In fact, these projects are the result of the work of three generations of architects spanning over half a century, each of whom decided, in keeping with the criteria and values of the time, how to intervene on this unique site, and what to bequeath to the next generation.

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The first generation had to take the decision to demolish the old Grand Hôtel de Vevey, built in the late nineteenth century. Applying contemporary preservationist criteria, Jean Tschumi’s Nestlé building would perhaps not have been built on that site. Fifteen years later, in 1976, the next generation, Martin Burckhardt and Frédéric Brugger, constructed a second building, a barre positioned perpendicular to, and the same size as, the first. Burckhardt and Brugger emphasised the sound implantation of the building rather than its relationship to the existing one, in terms of language and functional integration. In our case, as the third generation of architects addressing this site beginning in 1996, it was a given that we would approach the intervention in a manner consistent with the original building, which had been landmarked in 1980. Our objective was also to address the coherence of the entire site. Initial discussions revolved around the compromise between the necessity to preserve the building “museologically,” and the necessary transformations that would allow the building to extend its active life. In the end, only the loadbearing structure and unique elements like the cantilevered entrance canopy, marble floors, Chambord stairway, a few revetments, and original furnishings were preserved. The work included interventions of all kinds, from massive demolition, to restorations (as in the case of the entrance hall floors and canopy), designs inspired by period furnishings, reconstructions that simulate the original appearance (as in the case of the entire curtain wall system of the facades), and completely new elements such as the Liaison Space connecting the two existing buildings and the oculus Tschumi envisaged to bring light in over the Chambord stairway, but which he never designed. For us, each of these interventions raised matters of principle at the theoretical level, like for instance the question of preserving the physical material or the substance of the building, or the appropriateness of preserving the aesthetics of the facade, even though it was technically and functionally completely transformed. Aesthetic issues also arose, like, for example, whether new elements ought to be identified as such, or blend in with the original elements. The commission to design the Nestlé WellNes Centre (2005–08), the last of our interventions, raised the issue of what, finally, the relationship of a new building ought to be with respect to the two existing ones. Ourresponse was to privilege the integration of the new building by renouncing the introduction of a new language and proposing a design with an identity of its own, albeit one inspired by the themes of the original building. As we have presented a project profile on the Nestlé experience, what follows here is a selection of other renovation works that characterise the various problems we have confronted and the approaches we have taken. Credit Suisse Lion d’Or (2001–06) in Lausanne and Arenales (2011–12) in Buenos Aires exemplify interventions in buildings which, over the course of successive renovations, had lost the greater part of their original interior facings and ornament. In these cases, we chose to take the value of their spatial structure as a starting point. UBS Rhône (2010–15) in Geneva represents a typical renovation of an ensemble of buildings on a dense city block in which the commercial and public functions of the ground floor spaces are given a new lease on life, while the upper floors are renovated to accommodate administrative offices. The merits of the preserved facades inspire the contemporary language of the new ones. Rue du Jura 9-11 (2009–11) and Avenue Dapples 54 (1999) in Lausanne, along with the Alcorta campus of the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (2009–13) in Buenos Aires belong to the métier of recycling of industrial structures in the context of an urban fabric. In all three instances, the original facades have been restored and the industrial character of the interiors preserved to capitalise on the generosity of their spaces, while at the same time adapting them to entirely new functions. Finally, EPFL, Les Bois Chamblard (2006–12) in Buchillon stands as an atypical case, in which the architectural value of the existing structure resided primarily in the exterior character of the house and in its relationship to the unique landscape. Of negligible value, the interior of this private villa was completely emptied and adapted to its more public function as an intimate seminar center, while a completely new element was introduced to provide for larger gatherings.

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Credit Suisse Lion d’Or, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2001–2006 Renovation and transformation of existing Lausanne headquarters building

Built between 1911 and 1914, this bank building strategically located in the center of Lausanne looking out over the city and Lake Geneva toward the Alps, was designed by architect Eugène Jost (1865–1946) with Louis Bezencenet (1843–1922) and Maurice Schnell (1857–1936). It has been owned by the Credit Suisse Group since 1931. Neoclassical in style, crowned by a large cupola, the building was subjected to massive transformations during the 1960s which obliterated certain features of the original interiors. To accommodate current and future functional requirements without compromising the architectural quality of the building, the architects decided to pursue a strategy of emptying the interior spaces of the building and preserving only the facades. By enclosing an indentation on the east facade of the building, they created a glazed interior volume that houses a new staircase, providing access to offices on the upper floors. The Credit Suisse program included teller windows, offices for client meetings on the mezzanine and first floor, three floors of private offices, and a public area on the fifth floor,

with a new circular conference and reception room centered beneath the carefully restored cupola. In order to reinstate the vaulted structure of the original ceiling in the banking hall on the ground floor, a new precast plaster ceiling was created. Composed of a series of moulded plaster arches produced by a fabricator in Geneva, the new ceiling follows the arcuated form of the original neoclassical windows. From the outer wall, where each window is framed by a canopied vault, the ceiling progressively flattens out as it moves inward to meet the ceiling plane of the mezzanine. This contemporary gesture restores a lost original element of the historic building, and simultaneously invokes the modernist “hung” ceiling.

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UBS Rhône, Geneva, Switzerland, 2010–2015 New building, renovation and transformation of 4 historic buildings, with commercial spaces at street level and flexible office spaces on the upper floors

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The site comprises an ensemble of five historical buildings owned by UBS which are bounded by rue de la Confédération, rue du Commerce, rue du Rhône, and the historic Passage des Lions in the prestigious neighbourhood of Les Rues-Basses in Geneva. In January 2009, UBS launched a competition for projects to transform these structures in order to bring them up to contemporary standards of use, functionality, safety, and energy efficiency. The block comprises the Passage des Lions, designed by Adrien Peyrot and completed in 1911, a unique example of this kind of structure in Geneva, which was landmarked by the Commission Cantonale pour la Conservation des Monuments Historiques et la Protection des Sites; two buildings belonging to an ensemble dating from the early twentieth century; and two buildings along rue du Commerce. The first of these, an example of a palais bancaire built in a quarter of Geneva traditionally dedicated to commercial and banking activities, was designed by Gustave Peyrot and Albert Bourrit, and built between 1939 and 1942 on the site of a mixed-used structure occupied since 1920 by UBS, which had already undergone significant internal transformations. The second one had little architectural or heritage value. The project proposes an urban intervention seeking to reanimate this venerable block by creating a covered passage along rue du Commerce, and opening a new link between the rotunda of the Passage des Lions and rue du Commerce to integrate the ensemble into the network of pedestrian spaces in Les Rues Basses. The program features shops on the ground and first floors with flexible office space on

A

the remaining levels. In an ensemble possessing such disparate technical, architectural, historical, and patrimonial character, this project called for a very wide range of types and levels of intervention. One building was demolished (D), another was demolished and replaced by a new building (A), while in the palais bancaire (B) the facades were maintained and the floors, which had been compromised by successive interventions, were rebuilt; other buildings were renovated at the level of replacement of windows, facade insulation, and internal modifications (C, E). With the Passage des Lions, the architects sought to preserve as much as possible of the initial building fabric or to capture its original spirit in elements that had to be replaced. In terms of reflection and decision-making with respect to strategies for conservation, renovation, and transformation, all of the parties implicated in this project played their roles – the client, UBS, planning authorities and their technical departments, representatives of the local heritage organisations, fire safety officials, technical subcontractors, and finally, the builders, under the leadership of RDR from the competition phase onward. Each of these domains contributed to fascinating discussions from multiple perspectives, leading to an extremely rich and rewarding process that involved technical, functional, and safety requirements as well as economic and regulatory constraints, and which has significant architectural, historical, and patrimonial implications.

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Arenales, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2011–2012 Renovation of one apartment in an historic building

Designed by Giuseppe Bernasconi and completed in 1887, the Rue des Artisans is one of the oldest arcades in Buenos Aires. This L-shaped structure crosses the block between calle Libertad 1240 and calle Arenales 1239 in the center of Buenos Aires. Constructed at a time of intense property development stimulated by immigration, the original program for Rue des Artisans was housing, 60 apartments. Over time, the arcade has retained its charm and exceptional state of preservation within the urban fabric of Buenos Aires. In 1932, it underwent modifications carried out by architect Gaston Mallet, who divided it into two functionally independent sectors, introducing two different styles that have endured unchanged over time. Today, because of its central location in the city, the ground floor mainly comprises commercial space – art galleries and shops devoted to furniture, design, and antiques. The original housing units, which today have other functions, are distributed along the length of the arcade, with the exception of those, such as Arenales 1229, which are positioned on the facade and are entered from the street. All the units are organised around patios linking the two levels of the building. In the case of Arenales 1229, the patio serves only the upper floor. Despite the lack of documents pertaining to the historical development of the

arcade, the fact that this particular patio serves only one floor, in addition to its singular stylistic character, tends to suggest that it is not original. Before the intervention by RDR in 2011, the interior of the apartment had already undergone significant transformation to accommodate administrative functions, and for that reason, only elements possessing intrinsic value, such as the patios, wooden door and window frames, and granite fireplaces were preserved. On the other hand, the decision was taken not to recreate lost ornament, but rather to highlight the spatial and typological qualities of the apartment. To this end, the intervention seeks to reinforce the original plan, purifying the spaces as much as possible, while taking advantage of their ceiling height and emphasising the vertical proportions by introducing new openings. The overall effect of the structure’s symmetry has also been heightened at the same time that the spatial sequence of the day zones has been made more fluid.

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Avenue Dapples 54, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1999 Renovation and transformation of 2 floors of an existing building for RDR architecture offices

At the end of the 1990s, the RDR studio was located at Avenue Dapples 7 and growing steadily. This growth led to a careful evaluation of the structure and functioning of the practice, and thus naturally to a reconsideration of the office and studio spaces. New spaces were identified in a semi-industrial warehouse attached to one side of a nineteenth-century masonry building and integrated into the fabric of a residential neighbourhood fronting onto the Parc de Milan in Lausanne at Avenue Dapples 54. Open studio spaces for teamwork occupy the level of the original warehouse into which was inserted a new mezzanine, while offices and conference rooms are located in the nineteenth-century structure. Behind the traditional facade of the residential building, the irregular plan of the transformed studio and office spaces invades the residential building type common to the neighbourhood, introducing a new dynamic. Though both parts of the building were carefully renovated, the contemporary nature of

the intervention becomes particularly apparent through newly created elements that give the different spaces their specific character while serving as links across the whole project: two folded steel staircases, a suspended steel and engraved-glass “bridge” spanning the gap between the warehouse space and the residential building, and all plywood furniture elements.

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Rue du Jura 9-11, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2009–2011 Transformation of an industrial building, 13 urban lofts, and office spaces

Located on a narrow street in the Maupas neighbourhood of Lausanne, this building was built at the turn of the nineteenth century, and from the outset it housed the Imprimerie Marsens, well known for the production of wine labels. Since its transformation, the building has housed office spaces on the ground floor, and above them, urban lofts with an average area of 120 square metres. Following the removal of additions and alterations that had transformed the building over the intervening years, the renovation restored the building’s original character and revealed its spatial, and constructional expression. After the demolition of a stairwell and a few external appendages, it was possible to recreate openings that had been blocked for some 50 years and to create outdoor patios and a garden for in habitants. The concrete structure was made visible in the lofts, which have been restored to their full ceiling height of almost four metres. The plan of the lofts is organised around a central core which

brings together the bathrooms and kitchens and articulates the day and night zones. The space freed up between the cores and the high ceilings also allows for the introduction of mezzanines.

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EPFL Les Bois Chamblard, Buchillon, Switzerland, 2006–2012 Renovation and transformation of a 1935 villa to accommodate a seminar center

At the heart of an exceptional site on the shore of Lake Geneva, the Fondation Les Bois Chamblard occupies the former villa of Dutch meteorologist Erico-Charles Nicola, who bequeathed the property to the EPFL in 2001 with the aim of creating a place for small-scale meetings devoted to research initiatives focused on environmental issues. Built in 1935, Nicola’s villa had already been extended in the late 1950s. The option of demolition and reconstruction was ruled out from the start, given the villa’s symbolic value as the site of regular scientific meetings organised by Nicola during his lifetime and his explicit desire for the activities he pursued to be continued there. The process of intervention was thus focused on the renovation of the envelope of the house, whose character was to be preserved (in keeping with the recommendations of the Service des Monuments Historiques du Canton de Vaud), but also the form and presence of a new extension. The villa was emptied and completely reworked in order to accommodate a spacious reception area opening onto the extraordinary ancient oak forest which surrounds it. Views through the forest to the lake are maximised by the introduction of a floor-to-ceiling glazed bay in the dining room. Catering and various other services spaces are brought together at the southeastern end of the villa off the dining room. To accommodate seminar meetings as well as public events for up to 50 participants, a new spiral-shaped pavilion was conceived, in keeping with the planning regulations of Buchillon and mindful of the need to limit the impact on the natural environment with

respect to the villa’s ecologically sensitive location. The pavilion is linked to the original villa by an enclosed corridor leading into the spiral to reveal a perfectly circular conference room with full height glazing in woodframed bays that imperceptibly fan out, expanding as the spiral shape of the room unfurls, minimising the potential acoustical problems of a circular room. Embraced by two “arms” of the villa, the new pavilion immerses visitors in unobstructed views of the densely wooded landscape beyond.

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Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2009–2013 Renovation and transformation of an existing building into teaching and administrative facilities

Prior to the RDR intervention, the functions of the Universidad Torcuato di Tella were distributed over two sites. University administrators decided to renovate and enlarge the main campus building in Avenida Alcorta with the goal of bringing together the entire academic community of students, faculty, and administrative staff. The master plan drawn up by the architects prefigured three major phases of work. The first, currently under way, concerns the renovation and extension of the Alcorta campus, formerly a logistics building occupied by the municipal water department of Buenos Aires. This first phase is to be followed by the construction of a new auditorium, and finally a new building to be located in calle Sáenz Valiente, fulfilling the constructive potential of the site. The project for the initial phase aims to draw attention to the richness and quality of the existing structure by means of the volumetric and chromatic articulation of new elements. A new entrance to the campus was designed to cut through the building. Glazed, and visually open to Avenida Alcorta and an indoor garden, the new entrance thus assumes a structural role in the system of internal circulation. It houses a sculptural staircase spanning two levels, which facilitates the connection between the most frequented spaces: the basement and first floor. Throughout the building, the large circulation spaces contain zones for informal encounters, fostering more exchange among students. This phase also incorporated an indoor garden, which is linked with the adjacent park, an effort to draw out an aspect of the site which reinforces the identity of the Alcorta campus.

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Encounters Ignacio Dahl Rocha

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Encounters As we have already suggested, the evolution of architecture demands that the architect, hitherto educated as an “enlightened builder,” or as Adolf Loos put it, “a bricklayer who has learned Latin,”1 have recourse to skills and expressive tools beyond those of architecture as we understand it up to this point. Today the architect is obliged to expand his or her horizons and to enhance and even transform the traditional competencies of the discipline in dialogue with other fields. Moving from our reflections on the fundamentals of architecture into the domain of enquiries beyond the discipline, it is especially important for us to acknowledge certain encounters in the fields of art and design. Here, we present a number of those encounters. RDR Design has played a leading role in this activity as an independent team, one that is also embedded in the architecture studio. The team was created in 2004 to build on the important experience gained during the renovation and transformation of the Nestlé Headquarters in Vevey, among other projects for the company. The challenges there included the design of interiors, office furniture systems, as well as custom furnishings for various parts of the building, product display strategies, graphic design, and industrial design, represented here by the experience with Clestra in the design of partition wall systems. These experiences led us into the various fields of competence we have developed since that time. With respect to Clestra, it has been particularly interesting to develop ways to include the parameters of industrial processes in our design process, in other words, to learn to design a product for mass production, in contrast to architecture, which consists in the construction of prototypes. RDR Design collaborates in a variety of ways on architectural projects, and in response to the frequent need for the combined expertise of architects and graphic designers, we developed what we call “archigraphics” to describe certain hybrid encounters. There have been a number of occasions when the architecture studio has engaged the world of art, working together with artists including Baldwin and Guggisberg for the renovation and transformation of the RDR offices at Avenue Dapples 54 in Lausanne and the engraved glass panel for the lobby of the Nestlé Headquarters building in Vevey; Jean-Luc Manz for the Golay Buchel Headquarters building in Lausanne; Daniel Schlaepfer for the Clinique La Prairie in Clarens-Montreux, the Nestlé WellNes Centre in Vevey, and Flon Les Mercier in Lausanne, among others. In the case of the artist Catherine Bolle, beginning in 2004 we have been engaged with a series of collaborations which are presented in the following pages. In all of these instances, our enquiries have been aimed at broadening our experience of architecture by exploring with the artist the world of the intuitive and the sentient.

Left: Detail of the new engraved-glass logo panel installed in the main lobby of the Nestlé Headquarters building Right: Philip Baldwin and Monica Gussisberg at work on the engraved glass panel

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Adolf Loos, “On Education” (1924), in Ornament and Crime: Selected Essays, trans. Michael Mitchell (Riverside: Ariadne Press, 1998), 187.

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Little Sister An earlier version of the text that follows here was written for a recent monograph on Catherine Bolle’s work,2 and because it offers a window onto the way we have approached the process of working with artists and underscores the importance of such collaborations in our practice, we wanted to include it in this book. From an idealistic point of view, we could say that architecture is the little sister of the arts. The fact that it is required to serve a function, in this case to accommodate the varied activities of human beings, prevents architecture from aspiring to a more elevated goal, that of pure form-making. The artistic component is, however, essential to architecture. When the artistic dimension is in short supply, architecture tends to become pure construction and runs the risk of becoming banal. On the other hand, moving away from construction in search of aesthetic value and means can lead to imbalances that run the opposite risk, that architecture becomes purely rhetorical, and that form will be emptied of content. In the delicate balance between the banal and the rhetorical hangs the poetic nature of architecture, the fundamental characteristic that distinguishes it from artistic creativity. Over the course of history, the relationship of art to architecture has been expressed in different ways. In the classical world, sculpture and painting shared ideals of beauty with architecture and in the context of intense collaborations adopted numerous and varied forms. Generally speaking, the ideals of classical beauty were applied to the visual arts as well as architectural composition and language. At a more specific level, architecture joined together with sculpture in the development of ornament and the classical orders that form the basis of the language of architecture. Finally, at a more intimate level, sculpture and painting contributed, without losing their individual identities, to the architectural opus. Not unlike opera, which brings together music, dance, theatre, poetry, and the expressiveness of the scenographic arts, this was the way that architecture put itself forward as a meeting place for all the visual arts. Spanning a long history of harmonious coexistence, art and architecture aspired to the ideal of total fusion. At the dawn of the twentieth century, however, Adolf Loos abruptly declared that architecture was not an art. In his “Ornament and Crime” (1909), he reacted against the aberrations of eclectic architecture and the applied arts of his time. The ethics of industrial culture do not tolerate the sacrifice of the functional for the aesthetic. Balance is sundered, the danger of the rhetorical lies in wait. Radicals opine, following Mies van der Rohe, that construction alone is of interest to us, aesthetic expression is not our problem. Followers of the machine aesthetic claim that beauty lies in the functional. Does this imply the divorce of art and architecture, or that architecture is renouncing art and becoming merely a matter of technics? Or is this apparent revolution simply the invention of a new aesthetic? Where is the evolving relationship between art and architecture headed? At what point is it situated between the two extremes represented by the classical ideal of total fusion and the rupture

Le Chromoscope, studies for hand-painted fibre-cement panels, Catherine Bolle

2 Catherine Bolle: Les ateliers contigus, Werkstatt als Kunstlabor, Laboratori permanenti, preface Bernard Fassbind, with essays by Michel Melot, Libero Zupiroli, Ignacio Dahl Rocha et alia (Bern: Bentali Verlags AG and Catherine Bolle, 2011), 261-296.

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hinted at by modernism? What are the new frontiers and the new forms of collaboration they suggest? What is the common destiny of these disciplines in an era during which the most typical features of visual culture are consumerism and provocation? What is the shared destiny of these disciplines when we hear people speaking of the “death” of art and architecture? Catherine Bolle’s work, and in particular her incursions into architecture, reflect on these questions and explore fresh paths in an attempt to respond to them. When it comes to the purely artistic, Catherine’s work resists the current tendency to seek meaning in the purely conceptual and provocative, vindicating seduction through the purely aesthetic. The entire value of her oeuvre is concentrated in the visual; the connections between her art and the word are metaphorical. Her work is also mistrustful of facile vanguardism, and yet has an astonishing power to permanently renew itself in a natural and spontaneous way, almost without meaning to do so. Without a trace of nostalgia, and resolutely immersed in the contemporary world, Catherine believes in visual beauty, without being satisfied to rely on traditional means of expression. This takes on even more meaning, and such has been my own experience, when from the admiration of, or better yet the delight in the work, one comes to know the artist. Along with an openly visual sensibility that explains the permanent seduction of her work and obliges one to use words like refinement and good taste, Catherine looks at the world with inexhaustible intensity and curiosity. Having been politically active, having experienced the world of science first hand, and having explored art by calling on the most diverse techniques, how could she not cross paths with architecture one day? From the beginning of the 1990s, Catherine collaborated with various architects. In our case, in 2005 we embarked with her on what would become a very rich series of experiences which are still unfolding: Le Lapidaire for the residential complex La Verrière in Montreux (2001–05), Erlenmatt for the Quartier Erlenmatt in Basel (2008), and most recently, two works for the new EPFL Quartier Nord on the campus of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne: Le Semainier for the SwissTech Convention Center (2008–14) and Le Chromoscope for the adjacent student housing complex (2008–13). The degree of integration between art and architecture in these collaborative works varies from the selection of an artwork that was not conceived for the site, but whose presence enhances the site both as an object in and of itself, and in terms of its interaction of the space it inhabits, to instances where Catherine contributed directly in the conception of the architectural design, as in the case of the skin for Quartier Erlenmatt. Between these two extremes, we would put La Verrière, where the intent was to conspire with an architectural project that seeks to revalorise an outdoor space by reinforcing the articulation between the three buildings that comprise this residential complex. The principal component is a mural 20 metres long, bent at a 90-degree angle. The mural abuts an existing building and sits above a horizontal plane partly spanned by a reflecting pool. Catherine drew her inspiration from the urban and mineral character of the site in proposing a work that is

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composed of three layers of acrylic panelling, on which she combined printing and painting techniques. For this, she used stone dust from the Alps from which comes the title of the work, Le Lapidaire. The space surrounding the work is covered with pebbles collected from streams in the same Alpine region. In this first collaborative work, materiality came to the fore as the theme in common between the work of the artist and that of the architects. For both, the work only attains its full meaning when the abstraction of the formal composition materialises physically. In the project for student housing in the EPFL Quartier Nord, the intervention conceived with Catherine was meant to lend a distinctive and personal character to the circulation corridors which were conceived as spaces for casual encounters among students, where we sought to create an atmosphere that would be both intimate and lively, corresponding to their function. The work materialised in the revetment of the exterior access galleries surrounding the courtyard, and for this, we proposed the use of fibre-cement panels. These panels are a standard commercial product available in a given range of colours. The option of restricting the artwork to off-the-shelf materials belongs to a recurring theme in our collaboration with Catherine, this particular work making a significant contribution in that respect. Catherine is an artist whose oeuvre has a very strong visual identity, one which despite its great variety is easily recognisable. Be it in a canvas, a series of acrylic panels, folded paper, or one of her translucent boxes, her language seems so much her own, her personal touch so unmistakable, notwithstanding the abstraction of the visual language, what we might call her calligraphy. In the case of interventions by artists in works of architecture, the scale and modes of production typically hamper or seriously obstruct the potential for artisanal work. In such a situation it is necessary to choose between the reproduction of the manual work and its abandonment altogether. In Catherine’s case, the latter option introduced an important challenge insofar as it effectively meant forgoing her calligraphy. She was prepared to accept this. In fact her magnificent stairway, created in collaboration with the architect Vincent Mangeat, is a good example of a work in which her aesthetic was manifested in the absence of calligraphy. Here, we could also mention another aspect of the same problem, pertaining to those elements of a building which are installed in public space. This involves the conundrum of the pertinence and significance of a statement as personal and intimate as the calligraphy of an artist, when it is rendered at the scale of public space. The design for the access galleries of Quartier Nord were Catherine’s adroit response to this problem. In this instance, she agreed to fabricate her work using around 800 identical, mass-produced panels available in predetermined colours. However the prospect of restricting herself to combining off-theshelf components didn’t convince her, and she proposed an intervention which, within the bounds of the nonartisanal mode of production originally projected, still afforded her the necessary latitude to create poetry. A simple hand-application of sheer pigment not completely covering the whole panel immediately enlivened the inert surfaces and introduced subtle nuances of colour and light to modify the commercially-available colours

Opposite: Facade studies for Quartier Erlenmatt, Basel, Catherine Bolle and RDR Architectes Right: Le Lapidaire, La Verrière, Montreux Catherine Bolle and RDR Architectes

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of the panels according to her vision. As if by magic, proceeding from industrial panels, objects which on their own account were too basic and impersonal, and using a minimum of means, Catherine found a way to seduce us once again with her visual poetry: she may have accepted the challenge to forego her signature calligraphy, but she didn’t leave her talent behind. Finally, the project for Quartier Erlenmatt (2008) in Basel has enabled us to explore with Catherine a tendency in architecture where an interesting space for interdisciplinary work opens up. Today, architecture, which had managed to dispense with superfluous ornament in order to express itself as construction, is faced with new challenges. Now, to the priorities of technics and function are added those of sustainability. As we have noted, buildings are mutating, developing thick insulating wrappers whose outer layers are true skins that conceal construction elements which up to now determined the architectural expression of the building. In order to adapt to these new demands, we can collaborate with artists and learn from them. The project for Basel consisted in designing the skin for a building to accommodate a shopping complex and a hotel, the facades of which have an imposing presence above a striking public space in a new neighbourhood occupying the area of the former Badischer Bahnhof railroad yards in Basel. We proposed a facade composed of laminated glass panels serigraphed on their outer surfaces. The serigraphy reproduces motifs painted by Catherine especially for this building. Thus, it represented an opportunity to develop a handful of original artistic motifs in considerable numbers. Of course, the artist did not confine herself to providing these original motifs, but together with the architects participated actively in the conception and development of the overall design of the facades. Despite the serial construction, the elaboration of subtle variations in motif, texture, and colour conceived in small-scale resulted in unexpected aesthetic possibilities in the expression of the facades at an urban scale. An example of this was the discovery that from a distance, the organic motifs of the original drawings endowed the facades with a particular texture and colour which, without forgoing the reflective quality of the glass, were capable of evoking the red stone facades typical of the city. In this way, the artist’s calligraphy, essentially an intimate, personal motif, took on new meaning by being expressed in a public context. We began these reflections by pondering the question of the evolution of the relationship between art and architecture and the ways in which this interdisciplinary relationship might evolve. In that respect, our collaboration with Catherine is an open-ended one. Not only has it not come to an end, but there is even no urgency to look so far ahead, only to open up new horizons and to stimulate all who participate. For us as architects, this collaboration has taught us to recuperate an acute aesthetic sensibility that the demands of our profession tend to erode. It also teaches us to learn to recognise and to accept the value of the ineffable in the creative process;

Le Chromoscope, EPFL Quartier Nord, Student Housing, Catherine Bolle and RDR Architectes

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to enjoy the moments of solitude and anxiety in the face of aesthetic decisions which transcend the rationality of technique; to create without justifying ourselves. In short, it helps us to extend the boundaries of our architectural thinking. This doesn’t mean taking the path of the arbitrary, the rhetorical, or the excessive, as is so common among the contemporary avant-garde, but rather encountering a denser and more profound dimension on the poetic side of our discipline. In our case, the collaboration between artist and architect is in itself a collective work, a reciprocal exchange, in which we invite artists to escape the self-absorption of studio work and to delve instead into collective work. To do this, we must encourage them to give up a tiny bit of their freedom with respect to the outcome of the work, as well as the creative process the artist is obliged to share. Perhaps it is also a way of getting out of the gallery and conquering public space, of participating in the collective construction of the city as a physical and cultural entity.

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Le Chromoscope Catherine Bolle and RDR Architectes EPFL Quartier Nord, Student Housing, écublens, Switzerland, 2008–2013

In this collaboration, the aim was to create an atmosphere at once intimate and animated in the access galleries surrounding the interior courtyard of the student housing complex, where circulation spaces were conceived to accommodate casual encounters among the students. Le Chromoscope materialised in the cladding of the courtyard facades, the challenge being to create an artwork using around 800 industrial fibre-cement panels selected for this purpose. The panels are uniform in size and commercially available in a wide range of colours. As if by magic, with a bare minimum of resources, Catherine Bolle realised the objective of enlivening the space while working with the material constraints. Hand-applying a single layer of transparent pigment, but not completely covering the panels edge to edge, she introduced sensuous colour harmonies and light effects that transcended the material and aesthetic limitations of the off-the-shelf cladding panels.

Maquette, Le Chromoscope

Eternit fibre-cement panel samples annotated by the artist

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Work in progress in the artist’s studio

Study for initial colour palette by the artist

Study for Le Chromoscope, Catherine Bolle

Eternit fibre-cement colour palette

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Le Semainier Catherine Bolle and RDR Architectes EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center écublens, Switzerland, 2008–2014

To this encounter between art and architecture, Le Semainier brings the preoccupation with sustainable development and renewable energy. The stained-glass west facade of the SwissTech Conference Center, 40 metres long and 18 metres high, activates the realm of the main public space of the EPFL Quartier Nord with a palette of four colours arranged by the artist. But the colouring agents are actually dye-sensitised solar cells developed in the innovative laboratories of the EPFL by the Swiss chemist Michael Grätzel and his collaborators. At the same time that this glass skin mediates excessive solar gain in the main atrium space, with its narrow vertical bays ascending and descending in height to follow the roofline of the building, it also converts sunlight into energy with an output similar to that of photovoltaic technology.

Digital rendering of Le Semainier

Colour samples arranged by the artist

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Preparatory crayon drawing, Le Semainier, view of the west facade at night, Catherine Bolle, 2011

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Le Lapidaire Catherine Bolle and RDR Architectes La Verrière, Montreux, Switzerland, 2001–2005

This work was conceived as a complement to an architectural project with the intent of upgrading the outdoor spaces of the three buildings that comprise this residential complex. The chief component of the work consists of a mural three metres high, 17 metres long, and bent 90 degrees. It abuts an existing building and sits above a horizontal plane partly covered by a reflecting pool. The artwork draws its inspiration from the urban and mineral character of the site, and was created with panels consisting of three layers of acrylic glass framed with aluminium on which the artist intervened by combining printing and painting techniques. For this she utilised, along with pigments, a fine Alpine stone dust, hence the name Le Lapidaire, alluding to the work of stonecutting. Around the artwork, the surface of the ground is covered with round pebbles from the same Alpine region where the dust was collected.

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Erlenmatt Catherine Bolle and RDR Architectes Basel, Switzerland, 2008

A project for the design of a skin for a building that would contain a shopping complex and a hotel enabled us to explore the expressive possibilities of technological developments in energy-efficient building skins in the context of our collaboration with artists. In this case, the building has a significant public presence in a new neighbourhood being developed on the site of the former Badischer Bahnhof railway yards in Basel, and the design proposed for the facade involved transparent laminated glass panes serigraphed on their exterior face. Depending on the quality and intensity of natural lighting conditions, the visual effects of the graphic motif at different scales, colour effects, the opacity of the serigraphy, and the transparency and reflective nature of the bare glass, the facades would have many different looks. These effects would act against a background created by the colour of the protective film of the insulation, which brings chromatic harmony and depth to the surface. The organic motifs developed by Catherine Bolle from her original drawings endow the facades with a particular texture and colour which, apart from emphasising the contemporary character of a glass building, invoke the facades of rouge des Vosges, the red stone typical of Basel’s historic buildings.

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Drawing for Erlenmatt, Catherine Bolle

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Pretérito imperfecto, Futuro anterior Catherine Bolle and RDR Architectes Archivo General de la Nación, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2012

With this project, the artwork and the architectural project merged in a proposal for the 2012 competition for a building to house the national archives Buenos Aires. The building we proposed is the first of various identical and successive building phases envisioned to unfold as the archives complex spreads southward, filling the site it is intended to occupy. In the interim, the unbuilt space is offered to the people of the city for their enjoyment, with the southernmost facade of each successive building phase functioning as a projection screen. The expression of the building and the artwork that captured the idea and spirit of the project combine to evoke a folio containing sheets of paper: an object in which the container, given its elementary and timeless form, and the contents, with their historical value, together resist the passage of time. The main building volume contains the archival documents and consists of a concrete framework and an envelope composed of metal panels. The other administrative, archival, and public functions are located on the lower levels.

Pretérito imperfecto, Futuro anterior, Recueil, Catherine Bolle

Digital rendering for the competition

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Detail of Receuil for the Archivo General de la Nación

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Clestra pleinAir®, Strasbourg, France, 2004–2005 RDR Design Office partition system

The pleinAir® partition wall designed by RDR Design for Clestra is the result of a collaboration involving architects, designers, and manufacturers. The main objective of this wall system was to achieve a minimal expression of simplicity and sobriety while maintaining a very high level of flexibility, impeccable finish, and acoustic performance. A variety of screens or shading elements can be introduced, and the glass surfaces can be treated or covered to modulate levels of transparency. The suppression of intermediary posts requires the glass panels to be thicker in order to absorb the lateral stress. In turn, this additional thickness allows the glass to be milled on its edges. A specially patented plastic profile was introduced, producing a precise and efficient vertical seal between the glass plates.

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Clestra Boà®, Strasbourg, France, 2006 RDR Design Office partition system

Following a highly successful collaboration on the pleinAir® partition system, the decision was taken to add to Clestra’s catalogue with Boà, a wall system that took on a particular character with the introduction of wooden elements. The horizontal framing elements remain in aluminium, with a minimum possible depth, allowing for the vertical wooden elements to become the protagonists. The curvaceous shape of the posts seeks to maximise the expressivity of the texture of the wood, in contrast with the ultra-thin anodised aluminium, while allowing the glass plates to be seamlessly held in place. A series of opaque wood panels with a variety of carved vertical patterns complete the system of walls in which the modular joints disappear, creating continuous surfaces with additional acoustic properties.

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EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation, Logitech, écublens, Switzerland, 2009–2010 RDR Design Interior design and furnishings

This project involved the installation of the Logitech building’s public spaces, which were envisioned to function as nodes of communication, exchange, and creativity, reflecting the company’s credo and corporate philosophy. Flexible meeting spaces are strategically positioned in public areas, close to circulation hubs. Each zone is different in terms of its intended use and amenities, but all are rendered formally coherent by the presence of totemic elements tied to Logitech’s visual identity. The

entrance hall is conceived as a kind of plaza, with a great tree and two long benches for employees and visitors. Visual markers of corporate identity including forms, slogans, texts, and graphics are applied in various features of the building, from partitions to railings, furnishings, displays, and office equipment. Together they constitute the guiding thread of the installation.

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EPFL Quartier de l’Innnovation, Nanosphère, écublens, Switzerland, 2011–2012 RDR Design Interior design and furnishings

The day care center in the new EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation was named with a poetic neologism that simultaneously evokes the realm of scientific research and the universe of the smallest particles, the Nanosphère. This idea informs the visual codes and internal layout of the spaces. The entrance hall is organised around a circular enclosure containing a large red sofa, which functions as a hospitality and meeting space for parents and relatives of the children. Laid out around this central element, the

classrooms and their furnishings are conceived on the scale of children, with bright colours giving a clear sense of orientation. The long wall perforated by portholes brings light and transparency into the corridor and entrance hall, making it an area where play as well as interaction is encouraged. The ceiling, studded with large lamps that look like planets, creates a perception of volume on the scale of small children.

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Archigraphics Blurring the lines between architecture, art, and graphic design

The evolution of constraints and constructive techniques relating to building facades is increasingly influencing the expression of the envelope, which is progressively conceived as a skin with its own abstract, graphic, and visual qualities, to the detriment of the traditional expression of constructional elements. In our practice, we are interested in the integration of visual communication elements in our architecture, which we call “archigraphics.” Since 2002, we have incorporated into our studio a graphic designer who collaborates with us on developing the graphic dimensions of the practice and works actively with RDR

Facade concept, Nestlé Headquarters Company Store, Vevey, Switzerland

Facade concept, L’Îlot-du-Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland

design teams. Archigraphics can be defined as a technical and creative discipline that develops graphic systems with architectural properties or applications. Here, graphic design moves beyond the two-dimensional medium to occupy space and take its place among the traditional threedimensional elements of architecture, buildings, facades, and construction elements, blurring the lines between graphic design, art, and architecture. Its application is inscribed on one hand in the ornamental tradition of architecture, and on the other hand, in the contemporary tendency to use the facade as a vector of meaning.

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Creativity and Innovation For this chapter we have reserved a few observations on the subject of creativity and innovation in architecture in general, and in design processes in particular. For us, this is a particularly sensitive subject, and while we have insisted on persevering in our search for various kinds of balance in our practice, creativity and innovation are issues that we think call for special attention. There is no doubt that having the possibility to innovate is one of the great motivations for architects. At the same time, we are uneasy at being “obliged” to do so. In order to elaborate on this seemingly heretical confession, it may be helpful to distinguish between two manifestations of the notion of innovation. First is innovation in its noblest form, as the response to an essential human impulse to create. We think of innovation as the outcome of a successful creative process, or what we call sustainable innovation. Its importance in our profession is a given, and likewise, the stimulation and pleasure that the creative process brings. The trouble with innovation in this noblest sense has to do specifically with the challenges posed by our need to work collectively and to foster the optimum conditions for stimulating creativity in circumstances where the everyday reality of professional activity tends to impose other priorities. But innovation also arises out of another impulse. In this manifestation, it slips from being the outcome of a successful creative process to becoming an end in itself, even a priority. We have already referred to this as one of the most distinctive features of the architectural culture of our times, and one of the factors that contribute to imbalances in contemporary architecture. This phenomenon, by now a commonplace which at times verges on the obsessive, not only distorts the goals of architecture, but in many cases also devalues the creative process altogether as it culminates in “innovations” that are superficial. The Trouble with Innovation Two forces pressure us with the demand for innovation as an end in itself. First, there are expectations – our own, and those of others – that we will deliver an original and “genius” performance in our work. As a matter of fact, a work of architecture, in spite of being a service to society, is also a way for the auteur-architect to satisfy the ego, that is to say the need to be different, and if possible, better than other architects. The needs of the ego are not necessarily in conflict with good architecture, but when satisfying the ego becomes a priority, one runs the risk that the balance between the two, along with the the mission entrusted to us by society, will be undermined, leading to the dubious results we all have observed. José Antonio Coderch reminded us as long ago as 1960 that “it is not geniuses we need now,” and bearing in mind the fact that genius is not a goal can help us to find this balance.1 When we are fully conscious and in control of our own creative process, we are able to perceive the tensions between creative aspirations and the common sense our professional responsibility demands, and thus, with our freedom and ethical capacity, we can find a point of equilibrium. The second force that lays claim to innovation for its own sake is a cultural phenomenon, one that stems one way or another from the demands of the market economy. As part of the dynamic of consumption and competition, the appeal of novelty becomes a fundamental tool for responding to these demands, and architecture is no exception. As Jorge Francisco Liernur put it, “Many of the prominent figures in contemporary architecture seem to be in a frantic rush to turn the discipline into one more instrument in a world dominated by the accelerated consumption of images.”2 The most obvious example of this phenomenon is so-called “architecture of the spectacle,” which, impelled by the successful case of Bilbao, has typified the architecture of the last few decades: buildings by an elite of “star architects” which attain global visibility as “spectacular” instruments in the promotion of competitive cities and institutions. Many of these emblematic projects have already demonstrated their lack of viability, and this

José Antonio Coderch, “It is not geniuses we need now” (1960), Web Architecture Magazine (WAM) 01 (July-August 1996). Jorge Francisco Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza: consideraciones sobre la obra de Richter & Dahl Rocha,” 2, published as “On Tact,” in The Architecture of Richter & Dahl Rocha, trans. Inéz Zalduendo (Basel, Berlin, Boston: Birkhäuser, 2007). In the course of writing the texts for this book, in my re-reading of Liernur I returned to the original Spanish version; passages quoted here and elsewhere in this volume have been retranslated by Paul Hammond, with my emendations.

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phenomenon has been one of the most controversial outcomes of the current malaise. Architectural “innovation” runs the risk of becoming a purely formal exercise when it is not generated by a genuine programmatic or technical evolution. The market demands novelties that reach beyond such genuine evolutions, the result being more changes in the wrapping than the contents. Innovation as a demand associated with consumerism goes hand in hand with the phenomenon of premature obsolescence. By the same implacable logic, the novelty that supersedes whatever existed before will be pushed aside by another one in due course, thus generating a vicious circle that exceeds the life cycle of a building, and can be explained only by the logic of consumerism. We know that the “sustainable” management of physical obsolescence in a building can be resolved by respecting the life cycles of each of its parts. What is less “sustainable” is for a building that is still physically viable to lose aesthetic validity, or when it must be replaced by another one whose raison d’être is simply its newness. The opposite of this phenomenon, timelessness, the ability to resist time and to endure, is an ancient and fundamental attribute of architecture which also concerns us in our practice, and which will be discussed further in my reflection on Liernur’s essay. Another aspect of architecture that overshadows the obsession with the new, apart from beauty, is the simple but intense pleasure of doing things well. A building that achieves excellence in many respects yet is not predicated on newness does not arouse much interest today. The design process for the IMD Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center (2005–08) in Lausanne represents a case in which from the beginning, we imposed upon ourselves the demand for innovation. Many different variants were developed in the search for new or aesthetically cutting-edge solutions. All of these variants were discarded in the end, either for functional or economic reasons, and we resolved the expression of the building by means of a traditional constructional solution. In fact, the solution that best responded to practical needs turned out to be the most aesthetically convincing one as well, and we often cite this building as being representative of our aesthetic ideals. The design of the SwissTech Convention Center (2008–14) is an example of the opposite scenario, in which the demand for novelty was part of the brief. From the outset, SwissTech was envisioned as an emblematic building, so our design process involved a deliberate search for a sculptural form with strong unity and identity, but the solution managed to emerge from the spatial and structural logic of the project itself. The Design Process The processes of architectural design continue to increase in complexity due to the great quantity and diversity of specialised information that they incorporate, while particular attention has to be paid to the development and organisation of team work and interdisciplinary collaboration in order to tackle these effectively. Alongside these developments, advances in information technology keep pace, providing the new tools needed to address them. At an organisational level, new technologies propose exchange platforms and building models as a basis for shared work in which different specialists can intervene without increasing the time needed to do the work. Other models permit the optimisation of the design process by simulating alternatives, in terms of architectural form as well as the physical behaviour of buildings, or by analysing information about the actual utilisation of the building in order to incorporate what has been learned in future projects. Another huge advance has been the creation of programs that enable forms to be generated and which are capable of resolving complex geometries. These tools, in addition to the astonishing progress made in the virtual modelling of buildings, have had a significant influence on the evolution of contemporary architecture. Enthusiasm for the advances implied by all of this, and the almost unlimited possibilities for evolution in the technical and quantifiable aspects of project design have led to instances in which these powerful programs are used not just to resolve individual problems, but in the overall design of architecture. These forays, among which we could cite the example of so-called parametric architecture, are of great experimental value, but at the same time, the results reveal their limits. Paradoxically, despite the fact that such programs have been developed to objectify the process of design and to optimise the response to the particular conditions of the project, they

Study of named variants for SICPA Headquarters Prilly, Switzerland, 2010

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end up imposing an a priori, omnipresent, and clichéd formal repertoire that fails to respond to fundamental specificities like use, relation to place, or inherent character. The outcome is often characterised by systematic recourse to the complex forms these programs make possible, which contradict such objectives as, for instance, optimisation of the design, or cost-effectiveness of resources. On a theoretical level, advances such as these suggest the possibility of reducing architectural design to an entirely rational operation, which leads to questions about human nature that rapidly exceed the limits of what we are dealing with here. The important thing is that the evolution of technology tends, in fact, to rationalise the project to the utmost degree, thus begging the question of the role of the architect as we know it today. If the architectural project becomes the result of a purely mathematical process, the role of individual genius in the process of design is obviously diminished. As if to deny this, paradoxically, contemporary culture tends toward the cult of the individual creator, and it is precisely this tendency which makes it possible to imagine an evolution of architecture as just another industrial product. In this hypothetical scenario, the figure of the architect might survive in the form of a “brand” personifying a product, even though in actuality he would have little presence or agency in its conception and production, both processes having been effectively depersonalised. The importance of technological advances would be misinterpreted were we to see in them the solution to challenges posed by the declining quality of the built environment. As in the case of sustainable development, we are dealing with knowledge that is indispensable, but not capable on its own of responding to the general problem of the built domain, since as we know all too well, this includes a cultural dimension which goes way beyond technology. In the same sense, it is important that enthusiasm for these remarkable advances does not lead to contempt for intuitive forms of knowledge as something primitive that must be superseded. On the contrary, it is as important to master and understand these intuitive and artisanal methods, as it is the new devices of design, and the challenge is to incorporate them in the collective creative process. The Challenge of Collective Creativity At a purely practical level, new technologies are being incorporated into professional work as effective tools, and at the present time, for us it is less a matter of deciding whether or not to entrust formal decisions to the computer, than a challenge to develop new modes of participation and organisation to deal with design work undertaken by teams. In our case, the challenge has been to adapt the dynamic of the design process gradually, in response to the increasing complexity, scale, and number of projects, and the growing size of the office. This dynamic has evolved over the last two decades from a studio model, in which the substance of the creative process occurred at the level of the individual designer, to an office in which we have attempted to found a collective creative process. By “collective creativity,” we mean a process in which various individuals participate at key moments in the design process. Not all of the work of the team involves this sort of experience. A team may develop design processes in which the key moments are the outcome of individual creativity. Experiences of collective creativity pose a challenge not unlike the one posed by the teaching of architecture, that is, the need to rationalise to the greatest extent possible a process that is ultimately subjective. It is worth noting in passing that the “strategies” employed in this collective process are crucial to the outcome, hence the importance of understanding them fully in order to adapt them to our needs and objectives. In general, architects consciously or unconsciously keep some of the reasons and motivations behind a design idea to themselves, and it is important for the success of the collective process to make the effort to identify and share these. In trying to understand the collective creative process, the distinction José Antonio Marina has drawn between the “inventive” and the “selective” moment is illuminating.3 In the “inventive moment,” individual genius predominates, and its fundamental contribution is undeniable. It is worth, however, taking time to focus on the potential of the selective moment, which overlaps with the inventive, but is an activity that can be rationalised and therefore more easily shared. In the selective moment, ideas that arise spontaneously during the inventive moment are evaluated, analysed, discussed, and validated or rejected. This is the moment when ideas “in the

José Antonio Marina, Elogio y refutación del ingenio (Barcelona: Anagrama, 1992), 23. As Marina’s book has not been translated into English, passages are quoted in translations by Paul Hammond, with my emendations.

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rough” are subjected to in-depth critical discussion among a team which acts as a “collective creative subject.” It is under these circumstances that the collective creative subject has the opportunity to construct a personality or identity of its own, something which has traditionally been reserved for the creative individual. The notion of exploring the path of collective creativity has led us, more and more frequently, to turn to the study of variants as a systematic methodology. Although in reality such methods turn out to be complex hybridisations, we could describe the process that privileges the elaboration of variants as being the opposite of one that proceeds from a strongly intuitive position. In general, the latter process is the result of individual talent and privileges the inventive moment. It usually provides the more original responses, but is difficult to share. The variant method is based on elaborating different solutions for a given problem, which can be fuelled by brainstorming, and allows, step by step, for subsequent analysis, discussion at various stages of the process, and a collective selection of the final solution. The main trouble with this method is that the solutions agreed upon are usually more hybrid and have less “personality” than those that arise from processes in which individual creativity predominates. The Place of the Ineffable In our reflections, we have devoted an important part of this book to the notion of beauty, which as we have said, reserves a place for the ineffable, for all that “we cannot speak,” but which is perhaps the most important of all. If we are to be consistent, when thinking about creativity and the design process, this is one aspect that cannot be ignored. We have mentioned that one of the difficulties of collective creativity has to do with recognising and incorporating the subjective or the intuitive into shared work. In that respect, we value our experience of working in collaboration with different artists, to which we have referred in the foregoing section on Encounters. In this respect, we have often had the opportunity to experience a creative moment divested of all possibility for rational argumentation. Indeed, the creative process is not only the outcome of what we rationally control, but also the result of a process that we do not fully control, although we are aware of it. The blank page may generate a positive creative anxiety of sorts, or on the contrary, an anguish which, along with the pressure of a lack of time, causes us to resort to default solutions. A state of alertness and confidence favours this creative moment, which averts the anguish of the tabula rasa, and which, while it accepts a certain measure of anxiety as a stimulus, adopts a partly passive attitude toward the situation, as if the “spark” might occur spontaneously. Another characteristic of our way of tackling the design process is to let the creative process flow unimpeded, to discuss parameters and constraints, letting the analysis mature without rushing to impose external formal strategies, so that the form emerges from the problem itself. These are extremely intense moments in architecture, when the designer, whether individual or collective, tries to minimise the traces of his own hand, as if the work was born by its own means. In poetry, as Rafael Alberti has suggested, one should not notice the making of it. Sustainable Creativity At the beginning of these reflections, we made reference to our preoccupation with establishing conditions that are conducive to the development of collective creativity in circumstances where the urgent needs of the profession also have their own priorities, which do not always proceed in the same direction. This preoccupation has led us to confront, in collaboration with consultants from outside, the task of revising the working methods and organisation of the studio by placing the emphasis on the specific issues incumbent upon creative activity like ours. From this analysis emerge these first reflections, which will serve as a basis for advancing in that direction, and which may be summed up in the notion of “sustainable creativity.” By this, we mean creativity linked to the reality of the problem posed, and with the ambition of innovation as the successful outcome of the creative process and not as an end in itself. The first question this poses is that of balance between the value of experience and knowledge on one hand, and spontaneity and innocence on the other, as the means of liberating creative potential. A condition of creativity, it was suggested, would be “knowing what one is talking about”; namely, relying on the depth of the particular knowledge that is required in a given situation – calling to mind gist of the Adolf Loos’ story about the master

326

craftsman who, when presented with a new design by an artist, remarked to the effect that, “If I knew so little about my trade, I, too, would have fantasies.”4 The second question refers to the relationship between designers and their work, and the importance of being fully integrated in the creative process and receiving the feedback necessary to stimulate creativity. In our particular case, this means that although they might intervene in only a part of the process, it is important for architects to take an interest in the process as a whole, and above all, to gain an understanding of the building as it has been realised and in terms of its actual use. The third question, it seems, is the “tempo” of creativity. We agree that a lack of time works against creativity, but at the same time we know that during the creative process, it is frequently under the pressure of a deadline that hesitations give way to valid ideas. Is it important that one not act hastily, but rather take one’s time, especially in the early stages of the process. What is also important is the need to control anxiety, and to know when to draw to a halt, if necessary, and to take distance. This taking of distance is also conducive to a serene vision of the road that has been travelled, and to the possibility of incorporating new ideas that have emerged from the process itself. A corollary risk, albeit one which is not limited to the matter of tempo, is that of succumbing too rapidly to the search for solutions or responses to a given problem instead of concentrating from the start on asking the right questions. This is directly related to the need for a good cahier des charges, or brief, as a starting point for getting the creative process off to a good start. Finally, we realise that one of the main forces working against creativity is the demotivation caused by the pressures and tribulations of day-to-day activity. The Teaching of Architecture Like so many other architects, our engagement with higher education is an important complement to our professional activities. In schools of architecture, many professionals like ourselves come together to teach and share experiences. These schools are the place where discussions and research in the discipline naturally take place, since the demands of day-to-day work do not always provide the time or the conditions necessary for such activities. In addition to the great stimulus that is derived from sharing and discussing our experiences, the relationship with the academic world helps us to maintain a permanent state of critical awareness and to foment an investigative spirit in our work. In return, our professional activity enables us to offer the experience of reality as the kind of information and raw material indispensable to teaching, research, and theory. Among the benefits this exchange has brought, we wish to mention first the permanent process of learning involved in the teaching of architectural design. As we have mentioned, the demands of collective creativity, the fact of having to teach, and to share the process of design with students, obliges us to make a continuous effort to understand and to rationalise a process we have profoundly internalised as an intuitive tool. It is a process comparable to psychoanalysis, which attempts to understand the conscious and unconscious motivations of a behaviour pattern in order to be able to guide it. Going back to our comments on this, were there to be a possibility that computers might act “creatively” on design, they would do so on the basis of a profound understanding of these mechanisms. For the time being, science has not managed to explain the mysteries of creativity. Relations between the professional and academic worlds also provide us with an opportunity to nourish practice with reflection, and vice versa. Most of these reflections result from confronting the problems of day-to-day work with a line of theoretical thinking, which is in turn the result of personal interests developed over time within the framework of academic activity. As an example of this, we cite our central interest in the tradition of modern architecture, the will to remain as close as possible to construction and function in the real and metaphorical sense, stemming from the theoretical debates of the 1970s characterised by scepticism about architectural language, which marked our formative years. Both issues are in turn closely linked to our work itself. The practical and theoretical realms have mutually nourished one another, and we have taken an interest in theory as an instrument of critical reflection through which to observe and experience the practice of architecture, rather than as a way of constructing meaning to justify the work.

4

Adolf Loos, “Josef Veillich” (1929), in On Architecture, trans. Michael Mitchell (Riverside: Ariadne Press, 2002), 186.

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The different ways of integrating theory and research into professional practice at an institutional level give rise to a debate that manifests itself in the divergent tendencies typical of schools of architecture, and which is likewise reflected in the production of architecture. This debate occurs when the cultural tendency toward specialisation increasingly places teaching in the hands of professors and less in the hands of professionals, who devote only a part of their time to teaching. On one side, practical training is privileged with the goal of responding to the immediate needs of the profession; on the other side, critical and innovative thought and experiments are privileged in order to allow the discipline to progress. For those who defend the first scenario, the drawback consists of professing a commitment to reality as a poor excuse for avoiding creative risk, and closing the door on an enormous creative potential. For those who defend the second, the drawback is that theory and research become self-serving and disconnected from reality. The wager of the first is that naturally inquiring and creative professionals will break new ground anyway, on the basis of solid training, and the rest will exercise their profession efficiently; the wager of the second is that what is important is to teach everyone to learn to think, and the métier will be learned anyway as they go along. École Hôtelière de Lausanne: A Collective Project The importance of both visions and the need to strike a balance between the two of them is obvious. To do this, the need arises to reinforce and to energise relations between the professional and academic worlds. A case that illustrates this is an experience in the context of a project for extending the campus of the École Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) in Le Chalet-à-Gobet (Lausanne), in 2012. This unusual experiment, conceived and organised by the EHL, our office, and the Universidad de Navarra in Spain, has led to an exploration of the possibilities for interaction, not only fostering collaboration between academic and professional milieus, but also actively involving the figure of the client in the conception of a project. As this process unfolded, it provided an excellent opportunity to explore other themes we are interested in, such as that of collective creativity. This experiment involved incorporating the contributions of university architecture and landscape design students as well as students from the EHL in the creative process. To do this, 11 universities from North and South America, Asia, and Europe included the topic in their course offerings, and set students to work on it for a semester. At the end of this initial phase, the New Campus Development Forum was organised in Lausanne to present 35 of the 100 projects; faculty and students were invited to review and debate the results. At the conclusion of this academic phase, during which four students and a faculty representative were selected to continue collaborating on the design process, the professional phase, coordinated by our office as the designated architects, got under way. This second phase has involved the development of a preliminary design synthesising student proposals. An initial advantage of the project was to generate a range of proposals for the same problem, which enriched the process by bringing multiple viewpoints from different cultures and disciplines. Unlike architecture competitions in which a great deal of work is submitted, but only that of the winning team is retained, in this case, all the work contributed to an understanding of the problem and the elaboration of the definitive design. The experience turned out to make a major contribution to our on-going reflections on collective creativity. Once concluded, it will permit us to evaluate the extent to which this method has been conducive to creativity and opened up new paths for investigating the issues it addresses. For example, the sheer number of designs alone has enabled us to implement the variant method on a grand scale. Monitoring the procedure that leads to the final synthesis will enable us to evaluate a crucial issue: the selective moment of the creative process as a collective task. We will be able to evaluate the consequences of this method in the final result, for example, the extent to which a project based on consensus can attain high levels of creativity without forgoing the strength and the personality individual talent brings. With respect to the EHL as a client, they learned what they needed to learn in this process, and as they learned, they were able to help us. The experience of participating in the entire process enabled the school to optimise its thinking about its own needs, to grasp the architectural problem to the fullest, and to actively guide us in the elaboration of the design. This experience has also turned out to be enriching from the human point of view, and the stimulus it has provided for all the individuals concerned has up to now had a very positive impact on the result. For us, this has the potential of becoming a model that could be proposed to any other client or company.

THE PROJECT

Competitions | Unbuilt Projects

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Tour de l’Esplanade, Fribourg, Switzerland, 2012 Project for a mixed-use residential complex, with a hotel, offices, and public spaces

In 2012 the Swiss Federal Railway (CFF) organised a competition for the Tour de l’Esplanade which also included propositions for use with respect to programs and economic viability. The site is situated on the esplanade of the old railway station of Fribourg, between the platforms and Route des Arsenaux, at the end of an abandoned zone destined for development as a new quarter. The program proposed for the tower comprises housing units, an apartment hotel, administrative offices, and commercial spaces, with the proportion of different types of occupancy being undetermined. The two levels of the base house a parking lot for 100 cars and 550 bicycles and motorcycles, as well as commercial spaces that generate the lively social character of public space. The volumetric treatment of the tower seeks to make the most of the constraints of the building’s outline to produce a totemic structure on an urban scale. The lower floors of the volume are hollowed out, in order to free up the Esplanade and dialogue with the urban context, consisting of the former railway station on one side and on the other by the island along the Route des Arsenaux. This volumetric division thus suggests the stratification of occupancy in the tower. The public space spreads over two levels, linking the building to its context and to the city more generally. On the upper level, the Esplanade, located in front of the former station, houses the main access to the Tower. The public square is located on street level; it integrates and extends the nearby buildings of “La Genevoise” and the Banque Cantonale de Fribourg. A generous sweep of steps links these two public levels. The plan of the tower is compact and rational.

331

332

Tour de l’Esplanade

0

5

10

N

PLAN NIVEAU +625.50 (VELOS-COMMERCES)

20m

333

Techniques 538 m2

538 m2

538 m2

682 m2

Parking 96 places commerce

148 m2 387 m2

171 m2

accès hotel accès logements & bureaux

Dépots

réunions

96 m2

524 m2

387 m2

Perimetre Constructible Sous-sol 8 chambres

niv. esplanade / entrée principale

étage 2 / conférences

13 chambres

étage 3 / hôtel

étage type 4 à 7 / hôtel

N

0

5

10

Organisation du plan compact et rationel, optimisant l'incidence de la structure, avec une hauteur d'étage constante, et desservis par trois parcs d'ascenseurs (pour trois851affectations distinctes : logement, bureaux, hôtel851etm services) Recherche de 851 m m flexibilité conceptuel et constructive, capable de s'adapter aux évolutions toute au long de sa vie durée de vie. 2

2

173 m2

2

173 m2

76 m2

81 m2

5

685 m2 open space

étage type 14 à 16 / logements 6 appartements

cuisine

attique panoramique

SURFACES ET AFFECTATIONS

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The plan of the tower is compact and rational. Its layout, with a constructive system that frees up interior spaces and results in floors of consistent ceiling height, allows flexibility of use, and thus ensures lasting functionality. The very efficient core provides for the unfettered distribution of the proposed functions, including housing, offices, hotel, and commercial spaces. The tower presents itself as an urban sculpture whose plastic visual aspect is related to the treatment of its envelope. Its ventilated double skin allows the expression of a unified and homogenous facade in spite12'840 of m2 the diversity of occupancy and use it contains. Total superstructures/techniques/solaires Résidentielles

2'550 m2

+ 625.2

Administratives

Dialogue intermédiare

+ 626.3

279 m2

loggia

étage type 8 à 13 / bureaux locataire unique

– Optimisation éclairage naturelle – Protection extérieur amovible – Avec protection au vent > Double-peau compacte par étage Vide d'air ventilé naturellement – Isolation phonique améliorée – Simplicité d'entretien – Loggias protégés derrièrre simple verres – Ventilation naturelle possible

Tour de l'Esplanade

bar

6

139 m2

+ 625.5

+ 626.0

restaurant

244 m2

avec la tour. Esplanade haute, liée à la vie de la tour et de l'ancienne gare. Présence de l'eau devant la tour, lieu d'accueil et de réception, sous forme de jets et brumisation en séquences. Aménagement linéaire sur le thème du jardin ferroviaire FACADES / ENVELOPPE (mobilier urbain et plantations).

+ 626.2

wc

76 m2

– Faux-plafonds autour des noyaux : Déviations canalisation Place urbaine arborée en partie+ basse, en lien avec les commerces, reprise ventilation / installations techniquesla gare, le – Faux-planchers aux bureaux: bâtiment de la Banque Cantonale. Grand espace requalifié, favorisant le piéton et Hauteur idem chape aux logements les vélos. Accroche visuelle depuis la gare grâce au volume arboré, qui dialogue

+ 626.3

les vélos. avec la tour

4

1

DISTRIBUTION HORIZONTALE L'ESPACE PUBLIC REQUALIFIE

+ 628.5

terrasse

L'ESP

appart'hotel

3

335

ENERGIES 3 – Pompe à chaleur réversible sur champ de 4 sondes géothermiques /sous surface parking – Possibilité de refroidissement directe : geocooling 157 m2 172 m2 – Panneaux solaire thermiques > eau chaude sanitaire – Panneaux photovoltaique (pour Minergie P-Eco) – Ventilation décentralisée par étage avec gestion individualisée par orientation / locataire – Aération douce selon occupation réel > minimisation gaines > maximisation surfaces utililes type 8enà chape 13 / bureaux 4 locataires –étage chauffage aux logements – chauffage en faux-plafond actif aux bureaux

851 m2

2

117 m2

Noyau + dalles B.A. + périmettre porteur > Flexibilité d'occupation du plan 1 > Inércie thermique : stockage / délestage journalier 2

20m

77 m2

1

STRUCTURE

N

MIXITE, FLEXIBILITE, DURABILITE

PLAN NIVEAU +622.7 (PARKING)

5'100 m2

janvier 2012

Communautaires

4'650 m2

Commerce / Acceuil

540 m2

restaurant / appart'hotel

17

logements

16

logements

15

logements

14

bureaux

13

bureaux

12

bureaux

11

bureaux

10

bureaux

9

bureaux

8

hotel

7

hotel

6

hotel

5

hotel

4

hotel

3

conférences / réunions

2

accès / commerce Dépôts/logistique/tech. Commerces Vélos 510 pl. Parking 96 pl.

1'430 m2 550 m2 1'150m2 2'700m2

1

accès/dépôts/commerce/vélos

-1

techniques / caves / parking

-2

HRS Real Estate SA - Richter · Dahl Rocha & Associés architectes SA

+ 626.2

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Hardturm Stadium, Zürich, Switzerland, 2012 with Francisco Mangado, architect, Pamplona Project for a new stadium seating 19,000 spectators, with sports facilities and infrastructure

In 2011, the city of Zürich organised an international architecture competition for the new Hardturm Stadium. In association with Spanish architect Francisco Mangado, RDR was one of twelve teams to be shortlisted. Located at the northwest entry to the city, the new stadium is considered to be an essential element of a quarter slated for urban renewal. A new reference point at the west end of Pfingsweidstrasse, the stadium would become the last constructed element of an urban network that dissolves on the edges of the parks along the Limmat River. Conceived as home to the city’s two football teams, Fussball Club Zürich (FCZ) and Grasshopper Club Zürich (GCZ), the stadium seating 16,000 will host international matches (UEFA/FIFA). The modular seating system which allows for flexible seating and standing places as well, makes it possible to increase the capacity to 19,000 for national matches. To meet the needs of sponsors, fans, and the press, there is a special activities zone above the presidential gallery, with VIP rooms, sound booths for media commentators, and several dining facilities. Sited between the industrial zone to the south and the residential quarter to the east, the project seeks to create a dialogue between these two sectors with their contrasting atmospheres. A brilliant volume by day and translucent at night by virtue of its perforated metal shell, the stadium presents the strong and recognisable image of a diamond poised on a pedestal at the entrance to the city. The entrances to the stadium and the public amenities of the program including a cafeteria and souvenir shops, enliven the pedestal, which is directly linked to the public space, and thus in spite of the scale of the stadium, it become possible to create a neighbourly atmosphere vis-à-vis the residential quarter to the east.

335

Façade Nord

Façade Sud

Façade Est

Façade Ouest

336

Hardturm Stadium

10 m

10 m

10 m

337

10 m

10 m

10 m

338

Hardturm Stadium

Coupe longitudinale

Coupe transversale

339

The structural concept for the stadium combines two independent systems: on one hand, terraces that comprise an independent and continuous ring of reinforced concrete running around the perimeter of the stadium, functioning as an acoustical barrier; on the other hand, the roof, which takes the form of a perforated table resting on four V-shaped “legs.” These supports positioned at the four corners of the stadium, free up the maximum space at ground level, where circulation flows are at their most intense before and after matches. The facade is a continuous skin in perforated metal projecting the volume of the stadium into the neighbourhood. It is supported by a structural mesh suspended from the roof. This traction-based system makes it possible to minimise the dimensions of the substructure, so that the facade gives the illusion of weightlessness.

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Torre del Bicentenario, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2010 Project for a 200-metre viewing tower to commemorate the bicentennial

In 2010, the government of Argentina organised a competition for an emblematic monument to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of Independence (1810–18). The site selected is a parcel situated between the Rio de la Plata, the harbour, and an ecological reserve, in a part of the city where the urban fabric is oriented north-south. The proposal includes a large wooded park running the full length of this zone, contributing a new public green space to the city. Railway lines and the autoroute run beneath the street level, enhancing the link between the new park and the urban fabric. A promenade that begins on Plaza San Martín in front of the Retiro railway station ends close to the Rio de la Plata at the foot of the tower. The esplanade accommodates museums, cinemas, nautical sports, and other recreational activities, performing as a real urban forum. The Torre del Bicentenario becomes a new symbol of Argentine unity and hospitality. Standing 200 metres high, it also offers the panoramic viewing point that this extensive capital city needed. It is a demountable metal structure, comprising two pillars that stand 10 metres apart, between which are suspended capsules in which visitors are conveyed to the top and back down again. These capsules are in permanent movement on a continuous vertical loop. The concept is that of the paternoster, an early elevator system used here used to conceive an inexpensive, high-capacity, closed-circuit mechanism. Because of the relatively slow pace of the operating system, passengers can board at ground level without interrupting the continuous movement of the other capsules. With respect to sustainable development, the tower is economical in its use of materials, and can be dismantled to optimise its life cycle.

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Torre del Bicentenario

Mobile platforms for boarding the capsules

General plan

+0m

+ 50 m

+ 100 m

+ 150 m 1:200

+ 200 m 1

5m

343

200m

200m

200m

150m

150m

150m

100m

100m

100m

50m

50m

50m

200m

150m

100m

50m

344

Torre Bajo Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2011 Project for a 20-storey residential tower with common spaces, a swimming pool, and a terrace on the 2 upper floors

This project for a tower is located in the Belgrano quarter of Buenos Aires, a sector of the city where planning regulations have permitted the building of numerous towers per block, and where isolated high-rise towers have gradually taken the place of an urban fabric formed by contiguous low-rise buildings. The new building stands at the center of the parcel, between two high-rise towers and a consolidated block surrounding a public green space. Looking toward Rio de la Plata, the horizon is visible between two neighbouring towers. Bajo Belgrano houses 18 residential floors capable of accommodating numerous different combinations of apartment types for 36 to 72 units, ranging from one to four bedrooms in size. The building rests on four reinforced-concrete V-shaped feet, the free ground floor interrupted only by a glazed lobby that allows clear views of the park. The two uppermost floors house common spaces, a swimming pool, and a terrace. The proposal appeals to residents who in recent decades have moved out to the suburbs and are now returning to the center of the city in search of a new type of housing. The project proposes highly compact mid-sized apartments with high-ceilings and the general feel of a private house. The concept involves six units built into modules of three floors each, allowing for the creation of generous spaces measuring four by eight metres, with four metres of space overhead. This three-floor module is repeated six times, making up the main body of the tower. A balcony three metres deep running along the facade completes the structure. These traversant apartments are laid out to capture views into the heart of the block as well as toward the Rio de la Plata, creating a strong sense of openness.

2

10 m

345

2

10 m

346

MCBA Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2004–2005 Project for a new museum building in Bellerive

The site for the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts in Lausanne is a trapezoidal parcel fronting on the shore of Lake Geneva. Although it affords direct access to the lake at its narrow end, the site is compromised by the very different character of its neighbouring parcels, to the east a shipyard occupied by the General Navigation Company (CGN), and to the west, Marc Piccard’s early modernist Bellerive-Plage pool (1937). The project proposed a strong gesture to mediate this condition: a very simple barre building facing the lake. Clad in stone and open at both ends, the building rests on a podium that defines the site as a public place. On this new “ground,” cultural events related to the museum occur in the context of the more spontaneous activity generated by pedestrians passing by. In addition to exhibition spaces, the programmatic requirements of the new museum included a reception area and public spaces, a zone devoted to public education, a laboratory for conservation work, a reference library, a museum shop, a multipurpose space, and a garden, as well as privately run concessions such as a café and a restaurant. In particular, the positioning of the café at ground level in close proximity to the lake invites the public to participate in the museum’s activities. The main volume of the museum is elevated on its podium, and a long staircase leading to an open space overlooking the lake gives access to the various exhibition spaces. At the other end of the building, the facade acts as a large projection screen in dialogue with the city. Designed to free the exhibition spaces of structural elements in order to allow designers and art installers as much flexibility as possible, the building is also equipped with novel systems to facilitate and enhance the display of art works. The roof is composed of a series of skylights oriented to the north, which optimise the capture of incoming natural light; while translucent glass and horizontal louvers offer various alternatives to accommodate a wide range of curatorial purposes and strategies.

347

A A

B

B

B

B

A A

B-B B-B

348

MCBA Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts

349

THE PROJECT

Project Profile | EPFL Quartier Nord, 2008–2014

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EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center and Student Housing écublens, Switzerland, 2008–2014 In 2006, a bidding competition was organised by the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), inviting multidisciplinary teams of planners, designers, and investors to come together to formalise alternative proposals with the goal of establishing a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to develop a new quarter of the EPFL campus. Once the selection process was finalised, and after the necessary corrections and adjustments to existing planning regulations were in place, the Richter Dahl Rocha team initiated development of the project in 2009. Situated at the northwestern corner of the campus, this ensemble of buildings creates a whole new neighbourhood with elements of infrastructure that are strategic to the school’s continued development. The site is directly linked to the M1 Metro and bus lines, with the main EPFL station incorporated directly into the plaza level, amenities which mediate the inconvenience of the tracks and access roads that pass between the new quarter and the main EPFL campus. The flexible SwissTech Convention Center on the west side of the site seats up to 3,000 visitors in the main auditorium, and offers a range of other configurations including smaller auditoriums, conference and meeting spaces, as well as break-out rooms, exhibition spaces, and

reception areas, to meet the widest possible range of future needs. The plan for the new quarter includes a housing complex for 500 students which integrates 6,500 square metres of commercial space for shops and restaurants, as well as a hotel for guests. The whole ensemble is organised around a main plaza, where the common spaces of the convention center and the mixed-use student housing complex converge, reinforcing the public character of the northern extension of the campus. The SwissTech Convention Center is clearly the key protagonist, and as such, it takes on a particularly strong visual and formal identity. Although the formal language of the S-shaped housing complex is more subdued, a coherence of the materials used throughout the Quartier Nord brings a strong unity to the whole. The serigraphed glass cladding and anodised aluminium louvers of the student apartments fronting onto the main public space of the plaza maintain a clear dialogue with the convention center. Only in the inner courtyard spaces of the residential complex do the access galleries reveal the rich and colourful atmosphere of student life.

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EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center / Student Housing

Above: Studies for the initial phase of the PPP competition for EPFL Quartier Nord Below: Aerial view of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) campus, with the Quartier Nord finishing the northwestern edge, and the Quartier de l’Innovation, also designed by Richter Dahl Rocha, completing the southwestern edge

355

Organisational chart for the Public-Private Partnership, in which Richter Dahl Rocha together with HRS led the design process for the EPFL Quartier Nord project, in close collaboration with the user representatives from the EPFL and a highly competent team of engineers and consultants

PUBLIC - PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP)

LEGAL

FINANCE

AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC ENTITIES PROJECT MANAGEMENT

CREDIT SUISSE ASSET MANAGEMENT INVESTOR

RICHTER DAHL ROCHA ARCHITECTES

SWISS CONFEDERATION LAND OWNER

CATHERINE BOLLE DANIEL SCHLAEPFER ARTISTS INGENI SA + DANIEL WILLI SA CIVIL ENGINEERING

CONGRESS CENTER TEAM COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT

RIEDWEG & GENDRE SA MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

EPFL USER

HRS TOTAL SERVICES CONTRACTOR

STUDENT HOUSING QUALITY CONTROL

CONTRACTORS AND SUB-CONTRACTORS

BETELEC SA ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING KARAKAS & FRANCAIS GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING SPECIALISTS AND OTHER CONSULTANTS

356

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center, écublens, Switzerland, 2008–2014

Situated at the northern entrance to the EPFL campus, the SwissTech Convention Center becomes a new landmark, a clearly identifiable reference point in the landscape. The metallic shell, closely following the internal spatial configuration of the optimised main auditorium, seems to float over the glazed facades that enclose both the auditorium and the foyer, allowing a maximum of daylight to penetrate the inner spaces. The auditorium is designed to accommodate up to 3,000 people, but just as importantly, it can be subdivided into alternative configurations to allow for a variety of smaller-scale events to take place simultaneously or in sequence. The optimisation of these spaces in their different arrangements, which guaranty impeccable sight lines and balanced distances from the different stage set-ups in each case, ultimately defined the building’s form. The question of external cladding for the outer shell of the convention center was resolved through a typical process of research in terms of form and materiality, leading to the selection of elongated diamond-shaped tiles in anodised aluminium. A subtle variation in their depth reinforces the rich textural nature of the shell’s outer surface. The maximum capacity of 3,000 seats in the auditorium is

only required on a limited number of occasions per year. The possibility to subdivide this main space in order to create other spaces that are just as suitably proportioned and optimised was part of the brief from the outset. Moveable partitions allow the upper balcony as well as the area of the parterre below the balcony to be closed off. Hydraulic platforms and rotating seat mounts allow the auditorium to be transformed into a flat, multi-purpose room or banquet hall in a matter of minutes. The west facade of the main foyer is draped in 400 square metres of glazed panels on which are applied revolutionary thin film dye-sensitized solar cells, developed by the Swiss chemist Michael Grätzel of the EPFL, to provide protection from the afternoon sun while generating 2,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. The artist Catherine Bolle worked with the four colours developed by Grätzel to achieve Le Semainier.

357

358

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center

4 v.

Ni

2 v.

Ni

0 v.

Ni

359

360

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center

361

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center

B1

B2

B3

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

B4

T7

T8

B5

B6 T9

B7 T1

NIV. 7 = 414.38

NIV.6 = 410.46

NIV. 5 = 407.26

1'1295

NIV. 4 = 404.24

NIV. 3 = 401.22

NIV. 2 = 398.20

398.20 397.00

395.40

NIV. 1 = 395.00

394.90

FOSSE GALA

LOCAL VENTILATION

394.20

393.40 438

BASSIN DE RETENTION

FOSSE TECHNIQUE GALA

26

320

390.26

24

NIV. 0 = 391.80

952

2'483

292

362

30

995

766

B1

952

B2

2'978

B3

30 387.10

BASSIN DE RETENTION

FOSSE EP

400

B4

B5

566

B6

B7

363

Longitudinal section through auditorium, foyer, and break-out rooms, showing the main space of the auditorium, where the majority of seating is mounted on mobile platforms allowing for a wide range of spatial configurations

10

T11

B8

B9

T12

T13

B10

T14

B11

T15

B12

T16

T17

T18

B13

T19

B14

B15

B16

416.70

REGIE

NIV. 7 = 414.38

591

NIV.6 = 410.46

NIV. 5 = 407.26

407.26

NIV. 4 = 404.24

20

W.C.

345

30

FOYER

503

NIV. 3 = 401.22

NIV. 2 = 398.20

NIV. 2 = 398.20

291

39

398.20

FOSSE TECHNIQUE GALA

NIV. 1 = 395.00

288

24

STOCKAGE

WC DAMES

FOYER

NIV. 0 = 391.80

391.80

SALLES SOUCOMISSIONS

53

VESTIAIRES

NIV. -1 = 388.60

757

757

B8

374

B9

1'200

B10

600

B11

840

B12

600

B13

840

B14

255

B15

B16

364

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center

10

30 m

Above: Lower ground-floor plan of the secondary foyer and flexible break-out rooms, with escalators leading to the main foyer on the ground floor level, where are also located technical and storage areas and the lower of two levels of underground parking 10

30 m

Below: Cross-section through the auditorium, main plaza, and courtyard leading to the principal entrance to the student housing complex 10

30 m

365

10

30 m

Above: Ground-floor plan of the main floor of the auditorium, with the foyer opening onto a public plaza with restaurants, commercial spaces, and the Metro station Below: South-facing elevation, with the SwissTech Convention Center and break-out rooms (left), and student housing (right)

10

30 m

10

30 m

366

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center

6 8

5

6

7

1

2

3

Ecran de signalétique Ecran de signalétique

4 2

Ecran de signalétique

3

Ecran de signalétique

367

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center

368

BI

BH

BJ

BK

BL

224

NIV. 7 = 414.38

320

544

NIV.6 = 410.46

544

302

NIV. 5 = 407.26

302

906

NIV. 4 = 404.24

DA

302

4725

NIV. 3 = 401.22

NIV. 2 = 398.20 233

145

440

440

442

200

55

FOYER

391.80

FOYER

720

720

720

720

720 DA

369

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center

ALTERNATIVE CONFIGURATIONS

T10

T9

T1

B1

B2

B3

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

B4

T7

B5

T8

B6

B7

B8

T11

B9

T12

B10

T13

T14

B11

T15

B12

T16

T17

T18

B13

B14

T19

B15

341

5705

198

303

1985

66

419.13

25 391.80

VESTIAIRES CC 0 8026

W.C.

BASSIN DE RETENTION A CC -1 9103

25

16 15

952

2'483

30

3855

30

391.80 391.55

5795

MAIN FOYER Standing capacity

= 2200

F

LOWER LEVEL FOYER – MEETING ROOMS Capacity

= 1400–2200

424

ESC_ROULANT 2 CC 0 9407

NIV. 0 = 391.80

84

397.77

397.37

30

40 20 2 21

NIV. 2 = 398.20

33

396

440

396.53

SALLES SOUCOMISSIONS

391.80

391.55

30

5 polystyrène expansé 140mm polystyrène expansé isol. phonique 20mm

390.40

150

NIV. -1 = 388.60

388.60 30

995

16

30 387.19

387.10

150

387.20

385.60 30

386.20

766

1.

E

222 100 40 4 8 3

291

112

F

FOYER ESC_ROULANT 1 CC 0 9406

30

30

99 30

FOSSE EP CC -1 9105

30

292

16

387.10

979

= 480

952

B2

2'978

B3

400

B4

= 3000

24

390.02

24

390.26

B1

BALCONY FOYER Standing capacity

30

391.55

polystyrène extrudé 200mm

NIV. 1 = 395.00

RIDEAU COUPE FEU

46 WC DAMES CC 0 9302

240

240

537

24

394.90

5

498

394.60

308

25

58

330

Niv. 1 = 394.90

30

72

309

30

225

D

27 240 51

20 24

25

25

8175

5

25

394.64 laine minérale 180mm

30

25

20

5

24

prise d'air

525

438

25

286

394.20

30

Plan de coupe niv. 0

30

FOSSE TECHNIQUE GALA CC 1 9102 FOSSE TECHNIQUE

2'850

GRAND AUDITORIUM Total seating

503

2815 197

NIV. 2 = 398.20

STOCKAGE 1 CC 1 8026

10

393.40

280

393.40

26

FOSSE TECHNIQUE

30

30

315

20 300

16

25 393.40

70

Pente 2.0%

80

187

394.40

852

Niv. 1 = 394.90

LOCAL VENTILATION CC 0 9204

394.75

BASSIN DE RETENTION B

877

NIV. 4 = 404.24

15

1'1425 13

30 BASSIN DE RETENTION CL 0 9104 393.40 393.22

Lisse pour éclairage

9155

NIV. 3 = 401.22

398.05

FOSSE TECHNIQUE GALA CC 1 9101

395.40

441

40 25

E

5

626

403.23

6

30

e niv. 0

154

37

26

Module Banquet

154

345

30

64

1035

20

B

5

404.24

2405

Scène basse 396.60

LOCAL VENTIL

A+B+C

°

398.20

= 456

82

398.07

396.03

NIV. 5 = 407.26

30 404.17

13°

VENTIL

lisse 35mm

407.26

8

38 234

W.C.

désenfumage

Pente 2%

AUDITORIUM BALCONY (closed) Maximum number seats

NIV.6 = 410.46

470.17

36

40

405.02

404.07

7

228

92°

78

FOYER

407.26 fini

40

30

86

4275

30

404.08

Scène haute 399.40

8355

D 16°

895

100

404.07 1015

403.87

C

7565

414.05 413.42

6565

70

341

50

65°

1315 2

407.18 brut

110 30

75

404.77

1

1265

208

407.18 brut

15

40

1315 5

407.26 407.56

405.94

405.55

414.82 414.57

413.86 413.35 412.84 412.33 411.83 411.32

410.30 409.79

1895

407.26

= 357

60

NIV. 7 = 414.38

408.78

2'2465

AUDITORIUM REAR STALLS (closed) Maximum number seats

150

410.81

Mur de reception Skyfold 410.55

Passerelle T4= 409.64

Gaine prise air 60/130 Grille prise air 40cm? x 22m

e niv. 1

15

414.89 414.27

409.29

409.31 T1 408.10

B

1985

2625

rideau acoustique

T5= 410.99 T3= 410.20

417.29 289

414.37 brut

6155

1'157

T7= 412.88 413.30

412.31

411.54

409.54

Grille air viciée 40cm? x 22m

Skyfold paroi amovible

T5'= 413.77

411.90

Gaine air viciée 60/130

VENTIL

198

304

= 1757

417.78

C

80

303

198 5

AUDITORIUM FRONT STALLS Maximum number seats

418.50

416.55 416.81

415.25

198

304

A

Sommet noyaux 418.75

418.25

418.05

22

T10= 417.24

56

303

1985

135

965

95 215

198

304

HEA 120 419.63

Skyfold 419.54

16

370

B5

566

B6

757

B7

757

B8

374

B9

1'200

B10

600

B11

840

B12

600

B13

840

B14

2

B15

08.10.2012

EPFL / HRS - Centre de conférences

2.

3.

Richter · Dahl Rocha & Associés architectes SA

4.

371

B A

B A

C

C

B A

A

372

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center

Interior lining of the protective shell, where wood veneer panelling introduces warm and natural finishes, complementing the technical glass and aluminium of the building’s exterior

373

374

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center

p.302

Colour samples composed by Catherine Bolle

375

376

EPFL Quartier Nord, Student Housing, écublens, Switzerland, 2008–2013

p.160

On the eastern edge of the site, student housing and commercial and service areas provide a clear border on the public plaza. Extending to the south to include the Metro station, shops and restaurants are sheltered by a covered gallery with the hotel and student lodgings above. The large scale of the building is mediated through a series of articulations and

variations in height of the different volumes that make up the complex. Only the central bodies of the building are carried up to level eight at the top. The outer facades clad in serigraphed glass and aluminium louvers maintain a clear dialogue with the convention center, the coloured window jambs anticipate the exuberance of the inner courtyard.

377

378

EPFL Quartier Nord, Student Housing

NIVEAU 2

10

30 m

NIVEAU 4

p.160

Plans below, from left to to right: Commercial and service areas open directly onto the public plaza on level two. A 70-room hotel surrounds the south courtyard, and shared student apartments are reached through access galleries around the north courtyard on level four. On level six are

379

shared apartments around the north courtyard, and studio apartments in the southeast wing of the building. Only three wings of student apartments are carried up to level eight.

NIVEAU 6 NIVEAU 6

NIVEAU 8 NIVEAU 8

NIVEAU 6

NIVEAU 8

10

10

30 m

30 m

380

EPFL Quartier Nord, Student Housing

The shared apartments are arranged around the access galleries. Semiprivate living spaces in turn lead to the individual bedrooms, each with it’s own private bathroom. All the bedrooms are located on the outer perimeter, with the living spaces opening directly onto the access galleries surrounding the courtyard. This interior courtyard elevation is entirely clad in individually hand painted, fibre-cement panels transformed by artist Catherine Bolle into Le Chromoscope.

p.160

p.298

381

382

EPFL Quartier Nord, Student Housing

Studio apartments are arranged on both sides of the long interior north-south corridor running through the main wing of the building. To encourage social interaction among students, a variety of common spaces have been laid out at various points along this main internal thoroughfare. Double- or single-height spaces are closed off with brilliantly coloured glass panels, continuing the polychromatic theme of Catherine Bolle’s Le Chromoscope surounding the courtyards in the access galleries.

p.160

Light penetrating the coloured glass panels installed at intervals along the interior corridor is constantly changing, producing a lively palette of radiant effects

383

385

Reading Liernur Ignacio Dahl Rocha

386

Reading Liernur

In the spirit of the integral vision that inspires it, we would not consider this book complete without mentioning the contribution of the critic and historian Jorge Francisco Liernur, who has followed our work with generous interest from the beginning, and whose critical vision and insight has been important for us in various ways. His essay “Acerca de la delicadeza: consideraciones sobre la obra de Richter & Dahl Rocha” (2006), written and translated into English as “On Tact” for a monograph on our studio,1 best grasps the meaning of what we have been trying to do as architects, although I would hasten to add that the text’s value exceeds by far the specific context of our work. In fact, the subject of our practice turns out to have been a good pretext for writing an important piece of architectural criticism, one that constitutes a lucid and overarching commentary on contemporary architecture. Although I have referred to this text a number of times in the foregoing essays, it seemed appropriate to conclude with a close reading of certain particularly relevant passages. “Premises” In the introduction to his essay, Liernur establishes the fundamental premises of his critical activity, which he defines, invoking the writings of Antonio Gramsci, as the “essential unity” of a “de-ideologised” architectural culture completely integrated into the market economy.2 He includes our oeuvre in this system, proceeding to analyse it and attempting to describe its “distinction and difference,”3 with respect to the field of avant-garde tendencies in contemporary architecture. In stating his premises, Liernur offers a critical diagnosis of the current situation, in which “many of the prominent figures in contemporary architecture seem to be in a frantic rush to turn the discipline into one more instrument in a world dominated by the accelerated consumption of images.”4 In his very first sentence, he anticipates the main themes of his essay: the fleeting nature of time, the dematerialisation of architecture, and the substitution of astonishment for beauty. These themes structure a critical vision that evokes a significant transformation of our discipline, and is developed throughout the essay as a counterpoint to his comments on our architecture. Liernur’s vision also expresses a certain bewilderment in the face of what we have described as “imbalances” in the contemporary cultural context in which we operate. “Spectacle versus Architecture” In a chapter devoted to the theme of architecture as spectacle, Liernur describes this process of profound change in the very nature of architecture, quoting, among others, Kurt Forster, who metaphorically compares the

Jorge Francisco Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza: consideraciones sobre la obra de Richter & Dahl Rocha,” 37, published as “On Tact,” in The Architecture of Richter & Dahl Rocha, trans. Inéz Zalduendo (Basel, Berlin, Boston: Birkhäuser, 2007). In the course of writing the texts for this book, in my re-reading of Liernur I returned to the original Spanish version; passages quoted here and elsewhere in this volume have been retranslated by Paul Hammond, with my emendations. 2 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 2-3. 3 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 2. 4 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 2. 1

transformation of our discipline to the moment “when reptiles grew skin and feathers on their legs and turned into birds.”5 An example of these “feathers” would be the new status of image-givers architects are tending to adopt, encouraged by the demands of a society that privileges the facile consumption of images over the tangible and lasting experience of architecture. Liernur argues that while this might be true (and in another part of his text ventures to say that “on this, one stakes the meaning of the actual existence of the discipline”),6 architecture’s imminent disappearance cannot be predicted on such grounds. He cites examples such as urbanism or industrial design, which once belonged to the discipline and eventually broke away and became independent of it. He asserts that we retain the right to accept or to reject the “world of the spectacle,”7 and cites Kenneth Frampton, for whom “architecture can only survive as a form of critical culture, as a resistant otherness,” a resistance “based on a nostalgic compulsion to prolong the existence of a discipline that might otherwise seem destined to disappear.”8 The first “distinction and difference” that Liernur points up in our work with respect to the contemporary context is that “its singularity actually resides in the fact that it does not draw attention to its originality, but almost in the same moment that we would end up disregarding it as merely commercial or déjà-vu, it obliges us to perceive our oversight by engaging us with a subtle resonance that we hadn’t noticed or grasped at first glance. Unlike the strong images that abound in contemporary architecture magazines, images capable of grabbing our attention in an obvious or aggressive way, the resonance we perceive in the work of Richter Dahl Rocha is mysterious, barely perceptible, and requires a concerted effort to be incorporated.”9 What he calls a “rejection of stridency” is then analysed in the context of the Swiss and Argentinian traditions of the founders of the studio, and in relation to the socioeconomic and professional context in which the work has evolved: “The vast majority of architects in the world, that is to say all but a few rare exceptions, are not called upon to propose unique works that embellish global cities, or which seek to put unknown towns on the map, or to spotlight the avant-garde taste of progressive impresarios in the cultural supplements of major daily newspapers. Relatively speaking, the vast majority of architects in the world work with the same resources as those of Richter Dahl Rocha, but in most cases, they do so grudgingly, without managing or knowing how to

Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 2. Kurt Forster, “Thoughts on the Metamorphoses of Architecture,” Log 3 (Fall 2004): 19, quoted in Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 17. 7 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 32. 8 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 18. 9 Kenneth Frampton, “On the Predicament of Architecture at the End of the Century,” Hunch 6/7 (Summer 2003): 176; quoted by Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 18. 5

6

387

conjure those resources into a work of Architecture. Richter Dahl Rocha’s oeuvre demonstrates that this is possible. Furthermore, it demonstrates, as we shall see, that with those same means, without stridency or extravagant gestures, it is possible to generate works of Architecture of disturbing elegance and intensity capable of helping us to go on believing in the promise of happiness.”10 “Archaisms” “And the interesting thing is that the oeuvre of Richter Dahl Rocha achieves this subtle resonance by situating itself in the narrow, taut space defined by their refusal to abandon the archaic territory of Architecture and to adapt to the demands of the rhetoric and exaggerated histrionics coming from the mass media, without ceasing thereby to accept ... the field of work defined by the program and conditioned by contemporary modes of production and public and private actors. It is precisely in its equilibrium, on the brink of disappearance, that its attraction lies.”11 In order to describe this “archaic territory” as a set of values fundamental to the discipline, Liernur offers examples from our work and cites certain attributes that he calls “archaisms.”12 Among these, he mentions “character,” “that amiable way in which things reveal themselves as being what they claim to be,”13 “building,” the “material” status of our buildings, as thing and not image, in the sense of how we conceive the work, and “human scale,” which reflects the humankind for whom the work has been built, adding that “only the most cursory of glances can identify this intentional and profound archaism with a conservative or indifferent attitude with respect to the global context. In its non-actuality, its stubborn work within Architecture as an institution, this work is in harmony with Theodor Adorno’s conception of the role of the “sister” institution of art. On these premises, Liernur tackles the main themes of his essay which, coming from different places, converge with various questions arising in our own reflections and, as we see it, touch on central issues in contemporary debates on architecture. “The Role of Technics” Liernur refers to technics as “the most lasting form of solace”14 in the face of the inability of architectonic form to be self-generating, as modernity requires it to be, and citing different attempts on the part of modernism in that direction, warns us of the illusions of objectivity, truth and authenticity that technique has tried to foist on architectonic form: “To be sure, the modernist destruction of any anchoring of truth outside of the world of human representations comes up against the belief in its unmediated presentation

Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 4. Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 3. 12 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 19-25. 13 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 20. 14 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 25.

thanks to a wayward articulation of materials responding to a presumably pure technical logic. Architecture, understood in terms of institutional tradition … involves, instead, a clear awareness of the conventional basis of truth. Yet form must be founded on something and “representations” are presented as an “inevitable human way of constructing the world.”15 “To admit these representations,” says Liernur, citing Gianni Vattimo, who in turn is citing Nietzsche, “means accepting a masking that is not presented as a form of decadence, but as the only means of avoiding it when faced with the requirement to assume some element of human existence as a value.”16 In light of these reflections, Liernur adds that “that is why any attempt to unveil the alleged truth through the brutalist display of the technical entrails of a building … is tantamount to useless exhibitionism.”17 He argues that, far from such exhibitionism, the various aspects of our work are not intended to be subordinated to technics, but neither is this dimension denied, as occurs in much contemporary architecture; rather, technics “occupy the subordinate role it used to occupy in the traditional practice of architecture,”18 and that our architecture not only has no recourse to the logic of construction in order to arrive at the unity of the work, in the “tectonic” sense, but often elects to negate this. “Past, Present, and Future” For Liernur, the question of time, the fleetingness and acceleration that characterise contemporary culture has been one of the key issues in his interpretation of the evolution of the discipline of architecture. In this essay, he addresses the subject in light of Hannah Arendt’s distinction between the meaning of “labour” as the activity inherent in reproducing the vital or biological conditions of life, as for example in the production of food to be consumed, and the meaning of “work” as the capacity “to produce world,” that is to say, to produce objects that resist immediate consumption and that guarantee permanence and durability. “Without these kinds of permanence, without the traces of human efforts, society tends to be embedded in the timeless eternity of nature.”19 Architecture and the city, witnesses as they are to the continuity of successive generations of human beings, have proven to possess the greatest capacity “to produce world,” for enduring, for resisting the assault of time. “I believe that the work of Richter Dahl Rocha forms part of this architecture, understood as a basis for the constitution of our world, as a privileged means of preserving human sociality and historicity. In contrast to the demands of immediate consumption and the constant perpetual instability of the modern condition, and by the acceleration of the process of dissipation of all value as a consequence of the rise of

Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 27. Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 27. Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 27. 18 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 31. 19 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 31.

10

15

11

16 17

388

globalisation, this capacity or vocation for resistance is undoubtedly put to the test, and I would venture to say that with it, the meaning of the very existence of the discipline is at stake.”20 Liernur mentions two specific conditions of architecture that are required if it is “to resist”: one would be the idea of form being “resistant to” the passage of time, which Adolf Loos prefigured when he argued that, due to the nature of its production, architecture could not be assimilated to the processes of other commodities of transitory use; the other would be the need for “common codes” within the discipline that would make what Liernur calls architecture as institution possible: “That is why an institutional act like the one which, in my opinion, Richter Dahl Rocha are carrying out can neither ignore the problem of its potential permanence by limiting itself to the pursuit of pure presence, nor fail to come to terms with the inherited past. It is this requirement that causes the work to enter into dialogue with the masterworks of the past. … Every creator, according to Harold Bloom, struggles to attain the level of the masterworks that preceded him, and only in achieving this can he think about a new opening.”21 “The Principle of Hope” Among the central issues laid out in the essay, there also appears the search for Beauty. I have already quoted Liernur’s comment with reference to our body of work, that “no other glue than that of the search for beauty articulates the complex set of levels of demand, desire, and meaning that go to form it.”22 He addresses the subject of beauty also in a wider sense by interpreting it metaphysically as a socio-ethical commitment. He begins by linking it to what he considers to be one of the most famous modernist definitions: “Beauty is above all, as Baudelaire liked to say, paraphrasing Stendhal, the promise of happiness.”23 Liernur relates this “promise of happiness” to the capacity of utopia, the imaginary realm onto which unrealised desires are projected, to constitute itself as a source of hope. He also invokes Ernst Bloch, for whom hope has to do with the anticipation of an unattainable better world, but as an activity undertaken from the reality of the present, in a way that is anticipatory more than messianic, stemming from an attitude that does not submit to the world but rather reconfirms a commitment to institutions and to everyday work. But the demand for beauty that architecture formulates on our behalf, he adds, may also be read as a metaphysical necessity. In light of this, he invokes the Western conception of beauty as understood by Simone

Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 31. Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 37. 22 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 37. 23 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 36.

Weil and Aristotle, among others, as an expression of the desire for order and harmony capable of forcefully opposing the chaos of the city that its inhabitants simultaneously experience as “absolute freedom and agonising solitude.”24 These forces of order and harmony would no longer appear, as in the classical world, to be totalising gestures, but as a fragmentary action aware of its own impotence. “It is the possibility of the beautiful, the hope of beauty, which impels us with greater force toward the need to avoid the inhumanity of ugliness.”25 Reflecting on the social and transcendent dimension of the quest for beauty, Liernur quotes the philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer, for whom beauty is not merely subjective aesthetic perception: “He who says that something is beautiful is not only saying that he likes it, as he might like a plate of food, for example. If I find something beautiful, then I want to say that it’s beautiful. Or as Kant would say, ‘I demand universal agreement’.”26 Liernur points out that the agreement as to human re-union which forms the basis of Beauty has no spatial or temporal boundaries and generates a “presence” that also endows beauty with the capacity to oppose the susceptibility to consumption that defines objects as commodities. “We would not raise the question of beauty if we did not share a bewildering experience of it with other generations, and even other places.”27 In conclusion, and before moving on to illustrate his comments with examples from our work, Liernur adds: “I think that, if the work of Richter Dahl Rocha can be accused of something by those who do not share these criteria, it is precisely its beauty. In it, one perceives a powerful desire for reunion, order, harmony, balance, proportion, stability, timelessness, measure, grace, elegance, certitude, and consonance that the buildings we consider to be beautiful arouse in us. Of course these attributes are suspect from the viewpoint of an important fringe element in contemporary criticism, but what for some constitutes a demerit, turns out to be for us, fortunately, for the reasons suggested above, an example of rare and necessary virtue.”28 “On tacere” As I mentioned in the chapter on Beauty, one of the most significant contributions of Liernur’s essay is his revalorisation of balance and moderation as possible loci of intense aesthetic resonance, a phenomenon which, as he points out, runs counter to contemporary aesthetic ideals. Quoting Antonio Gramsci: “It is too easy to be original by doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing; this is just a mechanical thing. It is too easy to speak differently from others, to play with neologisms, whereas it is difficult

Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 37. Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 38. Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 40. 27 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 40. 28 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 41.

20

24

21

25

26

389

to distinguish oneself from others without doing acrobatics.”29 Liernur immediately adds: “Indeed, Richter Dahl Rocha’s work carefully avoids acrobatics of any kind, to such an extent that, as I have said, it demands close attention and time for the observer to enjoy it. In actual fact, their buildings seem to openly reject grandiloquence, resounding definitions, and the ‘manifesto’ spirit that permeates contemporary buildings consumed as advanced or (trans)avant-garde products. They inhabit, we would say, the space of neutral production.”30 He notes, however, that it would be an error to assume that “neutrality” has any negative connotation. It is here that he encounters in Roland Barthes, who devoted one of his last seminars to a few illuminating ideas in this respect. Barthes wrote: “I call Neutral everything that baffles the paradigm.”31 Liernur explains that the term “paradigm,” for Barthes, refers to the “motor of meaning ... which operates within the opposition of clear extremes, among which conflict is established: it requires the maximum profundity. ... The avant-garde and the moral act upon the paradigm. The Neutral is a state of provoked dysfunction of the paradigm, and therefore leaves us uncertain.”32 In Barthes’ terms, “the Neutral doesn’t refer to ‘impressions of greyness, of neutrality, of indifference. The Neutral – my Neutral – can refer to intense, strong, unprecedented states, ... the right mix of emotion and distance. ... In short, a well-behaved Eros, restrained, reserved.”33 Liernur immediately reminds us “that while the work of Richter Dahl Rocha does not have a violent impact on us, neither does it suggest absolute silence, in the sense of an absence of a communicative vocation,”34 and here he returns to Barthes, who distinguished between the Latin words tacere, the deliberate act of remaining silent, and silere, the passive silence of objects and of natural phenomena. In light of this distinction, “the Neutral would be defined not by permanent silence, which, being systematic, dogmatic, would become the signifier of an affirmation (‘I am systematically taciturn’), but by the minimal expenditure of a speech act meant to neutralise silence as a sign. ... I believe that Richter Dahl Rocha’s modus operandi consists precisely of this, of attaining the silere of things (buildings) such that they offer themselves up to us in the ‘state of balance’ proper to Beauty, but by adjusting or reducing the speech act to the extreme, that is to say tacere, remaining silent long enough to neutralise [their] silence as a sign.”35 Finally, commenting on our design for the Oculus of Nestlé building, Liernur invites us to take a last step toward understanding this modus operandi, concluding his essay with the following question: “What manifestation could be more eloquent than working toward the existence of a presence whose maximum intensity is attained precisely where it is reduced to an almost total absence?”36

Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” citing Antonio Gramsci, “Sincere (or Spontaneity) and Discipline,” Selections from Cultural Writings: Problems of Criticism, ed. David Forgacs and Jeffrey Nowell-Smith, trans. William Boelhower (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1985), 214. 30 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 43. 31 Roland Barthes, The Neutral: Lecture Course at the Collège de France (1977–1978), trans. Rosalind E. Krauss and Denis Hollier (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005), 6, 7, and 14-16; Le Neutre, de Roland Barthes, Notes de cours au Collège de France, 1977–1978, texte établi, annoté et présenté par Thomas Clerc (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 2002). 29

Oculus of the new skylight over Tschumi’s Chambord stairway, Nestlé Headquarters, Vevey

Barthes, The Neutral, 7. Barthes, The Neutral, 14-16. Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 44. 35 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 44. 36 Liernur, “Acerca de la delicadeza,” 46. 32 33

34

Epilogue

Retomando el camino Ignacio Dahl Rocha

391

392

Retomando el camino

In the course of these essays we have reflected on a series of changes that are transforming the discipline of architecture in a significant manner. What are the questions suggested by these reflections? Is architecture yielding to a process of mutation that will lead to something new and perhaps better, which we must comprehend and to which we must adapt? Or are we living through a time of decadence that could incite more radical reactions and give rise to cultural changes more profound than the ones we imagine? And what should be our attitude toward all of this? We find ourselves hesitant, on one hand caught up in the optimism of the sciences and technology, whose headlong rush into the future assumes humanity’s insatiable curiosity will lead to a better future, though it may take us down very different paths than those we already know; on the other hand, we contemplate the general panorama with the pessimism and nostalgia of the humanities, resisting certain tendencies in contemporary culture where we recognise the erosion of certain fundamental values of our discipline. While this view may be interpreted as negative, even reactionary, we prefer to interpret resistance as a critical and responsible attitude, a direct expression of our vested interest in what we have called “sustainable creativity.” A certain resistance based on the historical and institutional foundations of our discipline and on a strong commitment to reality should not prevent us from “enquiring with intensity,” as Mangado has observed. On the contrary, we see it as indispensable. We cannot know if this resistance is a futile attempt to slow down an inevitable process of disciplinary evolution, or if it has the virtue of anticipating problems that not only architects, but all of society will sooner or later have to confront. Notwithstanding its dynamism and ambition, most of contemporary architectural culture does not appear to be committed to a critical stance vis-à-vis the degradation of the built environment. It has not even advanced, as in times past, utopias or ideals that would stimulate architectural culture to put forward a determined effort to build a better world. In effect, the culture of architecture has become out of touch to the extent that the most consistent and stimulating “ideals” it offers today have more to do with the notion of “sustainable development,” in the sense of the need to reduce the “negative impact” of architecture on the environment, than with its fundamental raison d’être as the setting for human and social life, that is, for our collective existence.

As a sustainable and collective project, Richter Dahl Rocha has engaged a new generation of architects who will continue along the road that lies ahead. We count on them to discover the new “lines of enquiry.” The hypothesis that has emerged from the collective reflection that went into the making of this book is that the more we base ourselves on reality, the more sustainable will be the creative freedom to which we aspire, and the more firmly we anchor ourselves in the “fundamentals” of our discipline, the more room we have to exercise that freedom. In this regard, it is important to recall the observations of José Antonio Marina, in particular his comments about contemporary culture’s failure to engage with reality, its tendency to seek only escape from it, and to devalue it by means of parody, irony, and even cynicism, which finally leads to its own self-devaluation. “In effect, this freedom,” he concluded, “cannot be won with contempt.” As Liernur’s reflections on beauty suggest, in the broadest sense, the aspiration to creative freedom is propelled by the stimulus that comes with the notion of utopia, with the hope for a better world – not only its possibility to become actual, but its power to cultivate an attitude that does not yield to the world, but makes a commitment to institutions and daily work. Taking up once again our own metaphor, the form of hope inherent in beauty has to do with what we have called architecture’s ultimate, albeit secret meaning, precisely founded on the vocation for service as its first and most urgent reason, in short, the challenge of creating a more propitious environment for human life and in doing so, if possible, to procure Beauty.

393

Catalogue of Works & Projects

394





COLLECTIVE HOUSING

2011–



EPFL Les Triaudes Student Housing 134 apartments, including 96 studios and 38 suites with 2, 4, and 5 bedrooms École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Total Contractor: HRS Real Estate SA Structural Engineering: Ingeni SA Écublens, Switzerland

2013–2015

Les Fiches 1 building, 40 apartments Fonds de Prévoyance du Crédit Agricole (Suisse) SA Lausanne-Vennes, Switzerland

2013–2015

Chemin des Bosquets 3 residential buildings, 9 apartments Chappuis & Delarive SA Domaine de Chamblandes SA Pully, Switzerland

2011–2015

Les Fiches Nord 4 buildings, 67 rent-controlled apartments Caisse de Pensions du Personnel Communal de Lausanne Lausanne-Vennes, Switzerland

2013

Chemin de Montelly Project for 3 buildings with 87 rent-controlled apartments Invited Competition Fondation Pro Habitat Lausanne, Switzerland

2011



Torre Bajo Belgrano Project for a 20-storey residential tower with common spaces, a swimming pool, and a terrace on the two upper floors Private Client Buenos Aires, Argentina

2012–2015

Chemin de l’Ochettaz 1 building, 12 apartments Solvalor Fund Management SA Saint-Sulpice, Switzerland

2011



Parc Gustave et Léonard Hentsch, LMI Building Project for 1 building, 158 LMI and rent-controlled apartments Invited Competition Pic-Pic Promotion SA Geneva, Switzerland

2012–2015

Rue du Jura 6 1 building, 4 urban lofts Private Client Lausanne, Switzerland

2012–2015

Avenue de Sainte-Luce 1 building, 40 apartments Solvalor Fund Management SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2011



Les Moulins Rod Feasibility study for a riverfront residential quarter Groupe Orllati SA Urban Planning: GEA SA Orbe, Switzerland

2012–2014

Clos d’Asper, C, D 2 buildings, 40 apartments Fonds Immobilier Romand Aubonne, Switzerland

2010–



Quartier des Cèdres Development of a mixed-use residential quarter with 6 buildings, 1st phase, 218 apartments, and 76 units of student housing Groupe Orllati SA Urban Planning: GEA SA Chavannes-près-Renens, Switzerland

2012–2014

Grand-Pré Sud 4 buildings, 51 rent-controlled apartments Invited Competition, 1st Prize Société Coopérative d’Habitation Lausanne Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland

2012–2014

Avenue de Tivoli 2 buildings, 75 apartments Private Client General Contractor: Egima SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2012–



Préalpina 6 buildings, 54 apartments Fondation Unia Chexbres, Switzerland

2012



Les Planches Project for a residential quarter Invited Competition GeFIswiss SA Épalinges, Switzerland

2012



Chemin de la Venoge Project for the development of a mixed-use quarter Invited Competition Walo Bertschinger AG Saint-Sulpice, Switzerland

2012



Les Morettes Project for a residential complex Invited Competition Bernard Nicod SA Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland

2012



L’Îlot Hardturm with Francisco Mangado, architect, Pamplona Project for a residential building adjacent to Hardturm Stadium Open Competition Stadt Zürich Zürich, Switzerland



2010–2015

Avenue de Gilamont 2 buildings, 63 apartments OROX Asset Management SA Grisoni-Zaugg SA Vevey, Switzerland

2010–2014

Parc Gustave et Léonard Hentsch, Pic-Pic Extension 1 building, 72 apartments, park landscaping, and underground parking structure Invited Competition, 1st Prize Pic-Pic Promotion SA General Contractor: Induni SA Structural Engineering: Ingeni SA Landscape Architecture: Hüsler & Associés Geneva, Switzerland

2010–2014

Champs-Meunier Sud 3 buildings, 47 apartments Solvalor Fund Management SA Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland

2010–2013

Rue de l’Avenir 1 building, 8 apartments SI l’Arethuse SA Morges, Switzerland

2010–2013

Les Terrasses de Villette 1 building, 11 townhouses Groupe Orllati SA General Contractor: Steiner SA Villette, Switzerland

2010–2013

Chemin de Davel 2 residential buildings, 6 apartments Chappuis et Delarive SA Pully, Switzerland

2010–2013

Chemin des Peupliers 1 residential building, 9 apartments Private Client Pully, Switzerland



395

Alternative-Energy Student Housing, 1992

SWHome® Chailly, 1995–1996

Chemin de Chamblandes, 2007–2008

396

2010



En Vassin Project for 12 buildings with 186 apartments Invited Competition Bernard Nicod SA La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland

2009–2014

Trait-Planches 6 buildings, 109 apartments MCR, Zürich General Contractor: Bernasconi Enterprise Générale SA Structural Engineering: Daniel Willi SA Montreux, Switzerland

2009–2013

Champs-Meunier Nord 5 buildings, 42 townhouses Solvalor Fund Management SA Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland

2009–2011

Rue du Jura 9-11 Transformation of an industrial building, 13 urban lofts, office spaces Private Client Lausanne, Switzerland

2009



Terra et Casa Project for international employee housing Invited Competition Fondation Terra et Casa Petit-Saconnex (Geneva), Switzerland

2008–



La Borde Feasibility study for urban housing over bus depot Coopérative Cité-Derrière Transports Publics de la Région Lausannoise SA Structural Engineering: Ingeni SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2008–2013

EPFL Quartier Nord, Student Housing 252 apartments: 172 studios, 80 suites with 2, 4, 6, 8 bedrooms PPP Competition, 1st Prize Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund LivingPlus Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund Hospitality École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Fondation Maison pour les Étudiants Lausanne Total Contractor: HRS Real Estate SA Structural Engineering: Daniel Willi SA Artists: Catherine Bolle Écublens, Switzerland

2008–2010

Dos Patios with Bárbara Moyano, Florencia Rausch, and Susana Barra, architects, Buenos Aires 1 building, 10 apartments, office space Dos Patios SA Buenos Aires, Argentina

2007–2011

Im Forster “Le Garage” 1 residential building, 3 apartments Post-competition commission Private Client Zürich, Switzerland

2007–2009

Avenue de Béthusy 1 building, 21 apartments Technologie Sanitaire Perret SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2007–2009

Chemin du Liseron 1 building, 6 townhouses Solvalor Fund Management SA Lausanne-Ouchy, Switzerland

2007–2008

Chemin de Chamblandes 2 residential buildings, 4 apartments Private Client Pully, Switzerland

2007

Rives de Chamblandes Project for 2 residential buildings Invited Competition Private Client Pully, Switzerland



2006–2011

L’Îlot-du-Centre 4 buildings, 139 apartments LO Immeubles SA Solvalor Fund Management SA Structural Engineering: Ingphi SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2004–2009

Clos d’Asper, A, B 2 buildings, 72 apartments Fonds Immobilier Romand Aubonne, Switzerland

2004–2008

Chemin de la Crétaz 1 residential building, 7 apartments Private Client Chernex, Switzerland

2004

Im Forster, “Le Garage,” “Gärtnerei,” “Mittelberg” Project for 3 residential areas in a park Invited International Competition Private Client Zürich, Switzerland



2001–2005

La Verrière 2 residential buildings, 37 apartments, and renovation of an historic building, with 9 townhouses and shops Private Client Structural Engineering: Petignat et Narbel SA Artist: Catherine Bolle Montreux, Switzerland

2000–2007

Quartier des Uttins 4 residential buildings: Les Uttins D, 25 apartments; Les Uttins E, 18 apartments; Les Uttins F, 28 apartments; Les Uttins G, 37 apartments SI Les Uttins sur Léman Structural Engineering: Urner & associés SA Landscape Architecture: Jean-Jacques Borgeaud Rolle, Switzerland

1997–2000

SWHome® Valmont 3 residential buildings, 10 townhouses Private Clients Lausanne, Switzerland

1996–1997

Shamrock 1 residential building, 7 apartments Private Client Pully, Switzerland

1995



Champ-Chamot Project for a residential complex Invited Competition UBS Fund Management (Switzerland) AG, Commune de Belmont-sur-Lausanne Belmont-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland

1994



SWHome® Uitikon-Waldegg Project for collective housing Invited Competition Göhner Merkur AG Uitikon-Waldegg (Zürich), Switzerland

1992–1996

L’Îlot Sainte-Luce 1 building, 10 apartments, office space SI de la Grotte SA Lausanne, Switzerland

1992

Alternative-Energy Student Housing Project for housing for 100 students designed to rely only on renewable energy technologies Invited Competition, 2nd Prize Fondation Universitaire pour le Logement des Étudiants Geneva, Switzerland



1991–1995

Avenue de la Vallombreuse 1 building, 57 apartments with a day care center Caisse de Pensions de la Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Artist: Olivier Estoppey Prilly, Switzerland

397

Im Forster, “Le Garage,” “Gärtnerei,” “Mittelberg”, 2004

Dos Patios, 2008–2010

Shamrock, 1996–1997

Rue du Jura 9-11, 2009–2011

398

1990–1995

SWHome® Housing System Prototype for a flexible modular housing concept Lausanne, Switzerland

1990

Cité Derrière Renovation and extension of 6 buildings in historical city center, and 32 apartments Invited Competition État de Vaud Lausanne, Switzerland



1989–1990

EUROPAN 1 Prototype for modular housing concept Open Competition, Lauréat Lausanne, Switzerland



PRIVATE RESIDENCES



2012–2014

Villa au bord de l’eau Private Client Préverenges, Switzerland

2012

Casa Juanita 2 Private Client Punta del Este, Uruguay



2011–2012

Arenales Renovation of one apartment in an historic building Private Client Buenos Aires, Argentina

2011–2012

Casa Juanita 1 Private Client Punta del Este, Uruguay

2011

Villa au bord du Lac Léman Project for a private residence Private Client Saint-Sulpice, Switzerland



2010–2012

Villa de l’Est Lausannois Private Client Vaud, Switzerland

2010–2012

Villa Bosquets Private Client Pully, Switzerland

2008–2009

Casa José Ignacio Private Client Rocha, Uruguay

2007–2008

Casa Fareña Private Client Punta del Este, Uruguay

2007

Casa La Hilaria Private Client Punta del Este, Uruguay



1999–2007

Villa Sager Private Client Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

1999–2000

Villa Zbar Private Client Lausanne, Switzerland

1996

Villa Schelling Extension of Villa Huber by Alberto Sartoris (1960) Private Client Saint-Sulpice, Switzerland



1995–1996

SWHome® Chailly Twin villas Private Clients Lausanne, Switzerland





ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDINGS

2012



New Delta Feasibility study for a showroom and an office building Implenia Development SA Crissier, Switzerland

2012



Archivo General de la Nación Project for archive building Open Competition, Special Mention Estado Nacional Buenos Aires, Argentina



2011–2015

Avenue de la Gare Administrative headquarters Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique Lausanne, Switzerland

2011



Swisscom Prilly Feasibility study for administrative center Groupe Orllati SA Prilly, Switzerland

2011



Chemin de Bérée Project for 2 mixed-use buildings Invited Competition Établissement Cantonal d’Assurance Incendie Lausanne, Switzerland

2011



Propriété Bellerive Feasibility study for Ineos Headquarters Bentor SA Rolle, Switzerland

2011



Place Bel-Air Project for Credit Suisse headquarters Invited Competition Credit Suisse SA Geneva, Switzerland

2011



Banco Galicia Buenos Aires Project for an administrative center Invited Competition Banco Galicia Buenos Aires, Argentina

2011



Plan-les-Ouates, Rue de la Galaise Feasibility study for an administrative center CBRE Holding Switzerland SA Plan-les-Ouates (Geneva), Switzerland

2010–2015

Avenue de Rhodanie Office building Rhodanie Investment GmbH Structural Engineering: Ingeni SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2010–2015

UBS Rhône New building, renovation and transformation of 4 historic buildings, with commercial spaces at street level and flexible office spaces on the upper floors Invited Competition, 1st Prize UBS SA General Contractor: Marti SA Structural Engineering: Ingphi SA Technical Engineering: BG Ingénieurs Conseils SA Landscape Architecture: L’Atelier du Paysage Geneva, Switzerland

2010

Entre-Deux-Villes Project for the extension of Nestlé Suisse headquarters Invited Competition Nestlé Suisse SA La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland



399

Villa Sager, 1999–2007

Villa Zbar, 1999–2000

Villa de l’Est Lausannois, 2010–2012

400

2010



Banco Ciudad Headquarters Project for a banking center Invited Competition, 3rd Prize Banco Ciudad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina

2010



SICPA Headquarters Administrative offices and laboratories to accommodate research and development Invited Competition SICPA SA Prilly, Switzerland

2008–2012

Bobst Headquarters Administrative center and showroom building, restaurant, and extension of production facility Bobst SA Structural Engineering: MP Ingénieurs Conseils SA, Emch+Berger SA, Perret-Gentil+Rey & Associés SA Landscape Architecture: L’Atelier du Paysage Mex, Switzerland

2008



Delta Project Project for an administrative center Implenia Development SA Crissier, Switzerland

2008



Kudelski Headquarters Extension of an existing administrative center Invited Competition Kudelski SA Cheseaux, Switzerland

2008



FIBA Headquarters Invited Competition Fédération Internationale de Basketball Mies, Switzerland

2008



La Nación Project for an administrative center for newspaper offices Invited Competition La Nación Buenos Aires, Argentina

2008



Banco Central Project for an administrative building Invited Competition Banco Central de la República Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina

2007–2009

Vennes 3 Banking and IT offices Crédit Agricole (Suisse) SA Structural Engineering: Ingeni SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2007

Nespresso Headquarters Project for an administrative center Invited Competition Nespresso SA, Jean-Luc Giobellina Lausanne, Switzerland



2001–2005

Route de Berne 46 Office building Pierre Milliet Structural Engineering: RLJ Ingénieurs Conseils SA Artist: Gaspard Delachaux Lausanne, Switzerland

2001–2003

Vennes 2 Transformation and extension of office building Crédit Agricole (Suisse) SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2000



Villa La Falaise Renovation and extension of an early 20th-century villa to accommodate an administrative center European Union of Football Associations (UEFA) Structural Engineering: Bureau d’Ingénieurs Pierre Roulet SA Landscape Architecture: Atelier Acanthe Nyon, Switzerland

2000



OMPI-WIPO Project for extension of a headquarters building International Invited Competition, 3rd Prize World Intellectual Property Organisation WIPO Geneva, Switzerland

1999



Avenue Dapples 54 Renovation and transformation of 2 floors of an existing building for RDR architecture offices Jacques Richter and Ignacio Dahl Rocha Structural Engineering: Daniel Hernandez Artists: Baldwin and Guggisberg, Carles Valverde Lausanne, Switzerland

1998–2009

Quartier des Uttins 3 office buildings and a parking garage SI Les Uttins sur Léman Rolle, Switzerland

1996–2000

Nestlé Headquarters Total renovation and transformation of the landmarked headquarters building by Jean Tschumi (1960) with a new Liaison Space Nestec SA Structural Engineering: TBM SA Technical Engineering: Jakob Forrer SA Electrical Engineering: A+W SA Project Management: Steiner Engineering SA Exterior Lighting Design: Yann Kersalé, Vincennes Artists: Baldwin and Guggisberg Vevey, Switzerland

1996



Les Anciennes Teintureries Administrative offices of the Sandoz Family Foundation and public notarial offices Sandoz – Fondation de Famille Pully, Switzerland

1994



UEFA Headquarters Invited Competition European Union of the Football Associations Nyon, Switzerland



Centre de la Police Cantonale Project for a logistics center Open Competition État de Vaud Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland

2006–2012

Avenue de Mon-Repos Renovation of the de Rham headquarters building and new facade William and Yvan de Rham Structural Engineering: Ingphi SA Lausanne, Switzerland

1993

2001–2006

Credit Suisse Lion d’Or Renovation and transformation of existing Lausanne headquarters building Invited Competition, 1st Prize Credit Suisse SA Structural Engineering: Daniel Willi SA Lausanne, Switzerland

1991–1997

Golay Buchel Headquarters Administrative offices Golay Buchel & Cie SA Structural Engineers: Marmier et Hunziker SA Geotechnical Engineers: De Cérenville SA Artists: Jean-Luc Manz and Étienne Krahenbühl Lausanne, Switzerland

401

OMPI-WIPO, 2000

Golay Buchel Headquarters, 1991–1997

Villa La Falaise, 2000

402

1991–1995

EOS Headquarters Administrative offices Invited Competition, 1st Prize Énergie de l’Ouest Suisse SA Structural Engineering: Stucky SA Geotechnical Engineering: De Cérenville SA Energy Engineering and Design: Sorane SA Lausanne, Switzerland 

1990–1995

BCV Prilly Administrative and logistics center, entrance hall, restaurant, and training center in association with Suter & Suter SA Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Prilly, Switzerland





EDUCATION / RESEARCH

2013



HES-SO EPFL Valais Campus Project for a new campus building for the Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale and EPFL, with teaching facilities, workshops, a mediathèque, an auditorium, and a master plan study for future development Open Competition Canton du Valais Sion, Switzerland

2012–



EHL New Campus Master Plan A campus for students designed by students Study for campus extension with student housing and academic facilities École Hôtelière de Lausanne Conceptual Design Team Designated Architects: Richter Dahl Rocha University Representative: Francisco Mangado, architect, Pamplona Student Architecture and Landscape Team: Pauline Jochenbein, Jon Irigoyen, Sofia Passos Santos Civil Engineering: Ingeni SA Landscape Architecture: João Nunes, PROAP Sustainability Consultants: Energie Concept SA, DEC-Lausanne Sociology Consultant: Eduardo Camacho-Hübner Le Chalet-à-Gobet (Lausanne), Switzerland

2012



Agora – CHUV Center Project for a cancer research center with offices and laboratory buildings Invited International Competition Fondation ISREC Structural Engineering: Ingeni SA Laboratory Consultant: IE Life Science Engineering Lausanne, Switzerland

2012



École de Copet Project for primary school Open Competition Ville de Vevey Structural Engineer: Ingeni SA Landscape Architecture: João Nunes, PROAP Vevey, Switzerland

2010–2013

École Montessori Vevey Renovation and transformation of an existing industrial building for a school École Montessori Vevey, Switzerland

2009–2013

Universidad Torcuato Di Tella Renovation and transformation of an existing building into teaching and administrative facilities Universidad Torcuato Di Tella Buenos Aires, Argentina

2008–2014

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center Conference facilities with flexible auditoriums and meeting spaces, with seating for up to 3,000 in the main auditorium PPP Competition, 1st Prize Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund Hospitality Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund Living Plus École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Total Contractor: HRS Real Estate SA Structural Engineering: Ingeni SA Artist: Catherine Bolle, Daniel Schlaepfer Écublens, Switzerland

2008



UNIL Geopolis Project for a university building PPP Competition État de Vaud Université de Lausanne Total Contractor: Implenia Development SA Structural Engineer: MP Ingénieurs Conseils SA Chavannes-près-Renens, Switzerland

2006–2012

EPFL Les Bois Chamblard Renovation and transformation of a 1935 villa to accommodate a seminar center Fondation Les Bois Chamblard Buchillon, Switzerland

2006–2011

EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation 8 research and laboratory buildings, public spaces, and 2 parking lots UBS Sima Real Estate Fund Parc Scientifique EPFL École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Total Contractor: HRS Real Estate SA Structural Engineering: Ingeni SA Landscape Architecture: L’Atelier du Paysage Artist: Daniel Schlaepfer Graphic Design, facades: Marco Turin, RDR Design SA Écublens, Switzerland

2005–2008

IMD Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center Teaching facilities including lecture halls and seminar rooms, an auditorium, and a cafeteria Invited Competition, 1st Prize International Institute for Management Development Structural Engineering: MP Ingénieurs Conseils SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2002–2006

IMD Nestlé Building Research building, teaching facilities, and an auditorium International Institute for Management Development Structural Engineering: MP Ingénieurs Conseils SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2000



EIG École Internationale de Genève, Saconnex Campus Project for a primary and secondary school Invited Competition École Internationale de Genève Geneva, Switzerland

1999–2002

IMD Executive Learning Center Teaching facilities, meeting rooms, and 2 auditoriums International Institute for Management Development Structural Engineering: TBM SA Lausanne, Switzerland

1995–2001

École Française de Valmont Extension of the existing landmarked school building by Richter et Gut bureau d’architectes (1964) L’Institut International Sainte-Marcelline Structural Engineering: Daniel Hernandez Lausanne, Switzerland

1989–1990

École d’Agriculture de Grange-Vernet Project for the extension of the campus, classrooms, studios, and a fitness center Invited Competition, 2nd Prize État de Vaud Moudon, Switzerland 

403

EIG École Internationale de Genève, Saconnex Campus, 2000

EOS Headquarters, 1991–1995

École Française de Valmont, 1995–2001

404





CULTURAL BUILDINGS

2010



Kugler Factory Feasibility study for a mixed-use cultural complex on the site of an early 20th-century industrial building Previgest SA Carouge (Geneva), Switzerland

2009



Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Project for a new museum building Open Competition El Colegio de Arquitectos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires Mar del Plata, Argentina

2008



Musée Olympique Study for extension of the Olympic Museum, a new library, and a restaurant Invited Competition, 2nd Prize Comité International Olympique Landscape Architecture: L’Atelier du Paysage Lausanne, Switzerland

2005–2016

Aquatis New aquarium, water museum, and the relocated Vivarium PPP Competition, 1st Prize Fondation Aquatis and Fondation Vivarium Boas Management SA General Contractor: Grisoni-Zaugg SA Structural Engineering: Ingeni SA Museography: Thematis SA Aquariology: Aquaecopôle Concept Sàrl Lausanne-Vennes, Switzerland

2004–2005

MCBA Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts Project for a new museum building in Bellerive Open Competition, 5th Prize État de Vaud Structural Engineering: TBM SA Lausanne, Switzerland

1990–1991

FAE Museum of Contemporary Art New museum on the former industrial site of “Les Anciennes Teintureries” Fondation Asher Edelman Sandoz – Fondation de Famille Pully, Switzerland 



HOSPITALITY



2012–2014

Beau-Rivage Palace Renovation of 163 hotel rooms Beau-Rivage Palace SA Interior Design: Pierre-Yves Rochon, Paris Lausanne, Switzerland

2010–

Beau-Rivage Conference Center and Residence Master plan and feasibility study for conference facilities and exclusive guest accommodations Beau-Rivage Palace SA Lausanne, Switzerland



2009–2015

Les Bains de Saillon New hotel with 80 rooms, spa facilities, and a restaurant Boas Immobilier SA Saillon, Switzerland

2009–2010

Beau-Rivage La Rotonde New restaurant and cocktail lounge on a new terrace surrounding the historic Rotonde Beau-Rivage Palace SA Structural Engineering: MP Ingénieurs Conseils SA Interior Design: Stuart Wilsdon, London Lausanne, Switzerland

2009



Golf Hotel Extension of existing hotel facilities Invited Competition, 1st Prize Private Client Structural Engineering: Daniel Willi SA Montreux, Switzerland

2008



Beaulieu Project for a hotel, conference facilities, and exhibition spaces Open Competition, 1st Prize, 2nd Tier Beaulieu Exploitation SA Structural Engineering: Ingphi SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2007



Lares de Cholila Feasibility study for a resort complex Private Client Lago Lezana, Chubut, Argentina

2005–2015

Aquatis Hotel, 143 rooms and conference facilities PPP Competition, 1st Prize Boas Management SA General Contractor: Grisoni-Zaugg SA Structural Engineering: Daniel Willi SA Lausanne-Vennes, Switzerland

2005–2008

Nestlé WellNes Centre Corporate restaurants and cafeteria on two floors, self-service dining for 620, table service for 150, a cafeteria, and a fitness center Nestec SA Structural Engineering: TBM SA Artist: Daniel Schlaepfer Vevey, Switzerland

2002–2005

IMD New Meeting Place Extension of campus restaurant International Institute for Management Development Structural Engineering: MP Ingénieurs Conseils SA Lausanne, Switzerland 





WELLNESS

2009–



Clinique Sonloup Transformation and extension of a rehabilitation center housed in an existing historic building Private Client Les Avants, Switzerland

2007–2009

Clinique La Source Facade renovation and new corporate identity Invited Competition, 1st Prize La Clinique de la Source SA Graphic Design, facades: Marco Turin, RDR Design SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2007

Spa Punta del Este Project for a hotel with spa facilities Private Client Punta del Este, Uruguay



2001–2005

Clinique La Prairie New spa facilities and wellness center, with a new entrance hall and restaurant Clinique La Prairie SA Structural Engineering: Daniel Willi SA Landscape Architecture: Jean-Jacques Borgeaud Artist: Daniel Schlaepfer Clarens-Montreux, Switzerland 

405

Beaulieu, 2008

FAE Museum of Contemporary Art,1990–1991

Beau-Rivage La Rotonde, 2009–2010

406





COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

2010



Migros Chailly Project for the renovation of an existing commercial center Invited Competition Caisse de Pension Migros Lausanne, Switzerland

2012

2009–



Manor Lausanne Master plan, extension, and renovation of a commercial center Maus Frères SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2011–2013

Olympic Youth Development Center Haiti Sports facilities with playing fields and infrastructure International Olympic Committee Port-au-Prince, Haiti

2008



Quartier Erlenmatt Project for a commercial center, with conference facilities, hotel, public spaces, and parking Invited Competition, 1st Prize Multi Development Germany GmbH Structural Engineering: Ingphi SA Artist: Catherine Bolle Basel, Switzerland

2006–2009

Olympic Youth Development Center Zambia Sports facilities with playing fields and infrastructure International Olympic Committee Lusaka, Zambia

1991–1996

Forest Refuge Prototype for a wilderness shelter État de Vaud Vallée de Joux, Switzerland

1990

Centre Sportif Avenches Project for a sports center with gymnasium Open Competition, 1st Prize Commune d’Avenches Avenches, Switzerland 

2006–2008

Flon Les Mercier Requalification of public spaces and facade design for 4 new buildings LO Immeubles SA Total Contractor: HRS Real Estate SA Structural Engineering: MP Ingénieurs Conseils SA Commercial Concept and Interiors: Retail Rites SA Artist: Daniel Schlaepfer Graphic Design, facades: Marco Turin, RDR Design SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2002

Manor Bienne Project for a commercial center Invited Competition Maus Frères SA Bienne, Switzerland



1999–2005

Centre Saint-Antoine, Manor Vevey Extension and transformation of a shopping center designed by Richter et Gut bureau d’architectes (1973) Maus Frères SA Vevey, Switzerland

1991–1995

Jumbo Villars-sur-Glâne with J.-P. Gillard & Associés architectes Extension and transformation of a shopping center designed by Richter et Gut bureau d’architectes (1975) Maus Frères SA Villars-sur-Glâne, Switzerland

1987–1996

C & A Mode New buildings, transformations, and renovations of retail clothing shops in locations throughout Switzerland C & A Mode Brenninkmeijer & Co. Nyon, Lausanne, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Geneva, Switzerland





SPORTS

2013



Cluster du Sport International Administrative center for institutes dedicated to sports sciences, with research facilities, classrooms, an auditorium, and a cafeteria Open Competition UNIL-EPFL-État de Vaud Structural Engineering: MP Ingénieurs Conseils SA Lausanne-Dorigny, Switzerland

2012



Lugano Stadium with Francisco Mangado, architect, Pamplona Project for a new stadium seating 12,000 spectators, with sports facilities and infrastructure Invited Competition Città di Lugano Lugano, Switzerland





Hardturm Stadium with Francisco Mangado, architect, Pamplona Project for a new stadium seating 19,000 spectators, with sports facilities and infrastructure Invited Competition Stadt Zürich Zürich, Switzerland

Olympic Youth Development Center Haiti, 2011–2013

407

Jumbo Villars-sur-Glâne,1991–1995

Centre Saint-Antoine, Manor Vevey, 1999–2005

Quartier Erlenmatt, 2008

408

SICPA Hermès New production facilities building and warehouse SICPA SA Chavornay, Switzerland

2011



Morges Gare Sud Feasibility study for mixed-use urban development, including a railway station, offices, and housing Chemins de Fer Fédéraux (CFF) Ville de Morges, État de Vaud Morges, Switzerland

2010–2014

SICPA Chavornay New facade and corporate identity for 5 existing buildings in an industrial park SICPA SA Chavornay, Switzerland

2010



Métamorphose Nord Project for the development of an eco-quarter Open Competition Ville de Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland

2008–2012

Bobst Mex Extension of industrial production facility Bobst SA Structural Engineering: MP Ingénieurs Conseils SA Mex, Switzerland

2010



Torre del Bicentenario Project for a 200-metre viewing tower to commemorate the bicentennial Open Competition, The Public’s Prize Ciudad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina

2003

Nouvelle Lémania Bréguet Feasibility study for the extension of an existing handcraft watchmaking factory Bréguet SA Structural Engineering: Petignat et Narbel SA Le Chenit, Switzerland

2009



Centre La Sallaz Urban development with housing, commercial zones, and public spaces Open Competition UBS Fund Management (Switzerland) AG Lausanne, Switzerland





INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS

2010–





2002–2003

Nestlé Product Technology Center Singen Research and development building Nestec SA Structural Engineering: Fischer+Leisering GmbH Landscape Architecture: Thomas Gnädinger Singen, Germany

2008–2013

Plan de Quartier des Cèdres Feasibility study and master plan for housing, an office tower, and a conference center Groupe Orllati SA, Bernard Nicod SA Chavannes-près-Renens, Switzerland

1999–2000

IKEA Aubonne New logistics and storage facilities IKEA SA Aubonne, Switzerland

2006



New Hajj City Project to develop housing for pilgrims Private Client Mecca, Saudi Arabia

1999–2000

Nestlé Product Technology Center Konolfingen Extension of existing facilities and new research and development building Nestlé SA Konolfingen, Switzerland

2004



Flon-Ville Project for mixed-use quarter and municipal offices Open Competition, 4th Prize LO Immeubles SA Ville de Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland

1999–2000

Nestlé Product Technology Center Orbe Transformation of existing facilities and new research and development building Nestlé SA Orbe, Switzerland

1995–1996

PKL Combibloc Asia Beverage packaging factory PKL Werk with Electrowatt Company EWI Rayong, Thailand

1994–1995

Emhart Djebel-Ali New glass bottle factory Emhart Glass with Electrowatt Company EWI Djebel-Ali, Saudi Arabia



URBANISM



2011–2012

WCC Campus Feasibility study for a chapel and administrative facilities, a conference center, a hotel, and a housing development World Council of Churches (WCC) Grand-Saconnex (Geneva), Switzerland

2012

Tour de l’Esplanade Project for a mixed-use residential complex, with a hotel, offices, and public spaces PPP Competition Chemins de Fer Fédéraux (CFF) Total Contractor: HRS Real Estate SA Structural Engineering: Ingeni SA Fribourg, Switzerland



1994–2000

Au Pré-du-Canal Feasibility study and master plan Invited Competition, 1st Prize Zürich Assurances Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland

1993



En La Praz Project for the development of a new urban quarter Open Competition Commune de Cugy Cugy, Switzerland

1990



Place de la Gare, Lausanne Requalification of the public spaces of the railway station with parking and shops Invited Competition Ville de Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland

1990



Agy Centre Project for a convention center with hotel and a technology park Invited Competition, 2nd Prize Agy Management SA Fribourg, Switzerland 

1987–1995

Espacité Mixed-use residential and commercial complex with public spaces Open Competition, 1st Prize SUVA (CNA)-CPEN-CPCF Ville de La Chaux-de-Fonds General Contractor: SD SA Structural Engineering: Jean-Henri Petignat Civil Engineering: GIESP-Groupement d’Ingénieurs Civils La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

409

Nestlé Product Technology Center Singen, 2002–2003

New Hajj City, 2006

Espacité, 1987–1995

Plan de Quartier des Cèdres, 2008–2013

410





INFRASTRUCTURE

2011



Park+Ride Montreux Project for a parking structure for 385 cars Invited Competition Commune de Montreux Structural Engineering: Daniel Willi SA Montreux, Switzerland

2010–2012

Abribus RC1 5 bus stop shelters, wood construction Service des Routes, État de Vaud Écublens, Switzerland

2009–2013

Passage de la Mouline Pedestrian passage connecting the original campus of the Université de Lausanne with the new extension and the Metro station État de Vaud Structural Engineering: Synaxis SA Landscape Architecture: L’Atelier du Paysage Chavannes-près-Renens, Switzerland

2009

Franchissements Piétonniers sur l’Autoroute Feasibility study for two pedestrian and cyclist bridges Commune de Chavannes-près-Renens Structural Engineering: Boss & Associés Ingénieurs Conseils SA Chavannes-près-Renens, Switzerland



2008–2012

Requalification Route Cantonale 1 Landscaping of highway and public space Schéma Directeur de l’Ouest Lausannois (SDOL) Structural Engineering: Schopfer et Niggli SA Traffic Engineering: RGR SA Execution Engineering: SD SA Landscape Architecture: L’Atelier du Paysage Chavannes-près-Renens, Saint-Sulpice, Écublens, Switzerland

2005–2010

Park+Ride Vennes Parking for 1,200 cars directly linked to the Metro M2 Ville de Lausanne General Contractor: Grisoni-Zaugg SA Structural Engineering: Ingeni SA, Daniel Willi SA Lausanne, Switzerland

1995–1999

CFF Train Maintenance Center Chemins de Fer Fédéraux (CFF) Structural Engineering: Frey & Associés SA, Boubaker Ingénieurs Conseils SA Geneva, Switzerland



RDR DESIGN





Interior, Furniture, and Industrial Design

2013

Nestlé Headquarters Culinarium Demonstration kitchens Nestec SA Vevey, Switzerland



2011–2012

EPFL Quartier de l’Innnovation, Nanosphère Interior design and furnishings for a day care center Fennec Finance SA Parc Scientifique EPFL École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Écublens, Switzerland

2010–2014

EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center Interior design furnishings Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund LivingPlus Credit Suisse Estate Fund Hospitality École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Écublens, Switzerland

2010–2013

EPFL Quartier Nord, Student Housing Interior design and furnishings for student apartments Fondation Maisons pour Étudiants Lausanne École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Écublens, Switzerland

2010–2012

Bobst Headquarters Interior design of entrance hall, reception, offices, restaurant, and day care center Bobst SA Mex, Switzerland

2010–2012

EPFL Les Bois Chamblard Interior design and furnishings Fondation Les Bois Chamblard Buchillon, Switzerland

2010

Park+Ride Vennes Kinetic facade design Ville de Lausanne General Contractor: Grisoni-Zaugg SA Lausanne, Switzerland



2009–2010

EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation, Logitech Interior design and furnishings Logitech Europe SA École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Écublens, Switzerland

2009–2010

Fondation Leenaards Transformation, interior design, and furnishings Fondation Leenaards Lausanne, Switzerland

2008–2010

New Medical Technologies Clinic Interior design and furnishings Imtech Deutschland Moscow, Russia

2008



IMD Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center Interior design and furnishings International Institute for Management Development Lausanne, Switzerland

2007



Swiss Perfection Display design Swiss Perfection, Clinique La Prairie Clarens-Montreux, Switzerland

2006–2008

Nestlé Reller Interior design and furnishings Nestec SA Vevey, Switzerland

2006–2008

Nestlé WellNes Centre Interior design and furnishings Nestec SA Vevey, Switzerland

2006



Villa Sager Interior design and furnishings Private Client Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

2006



Clestra Boà® Office partition system Clestra Hauserman SA Strasbourg, France

2005–2006

Nestlé Suisse Headquarters Entrance hall, reception desk, director’s office, and company store Nestec SA La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland

2005



Clestra Hauserman SA Showroom design Clestra Hauserman SA Strasbourg, France

2005



IMD New Meeting Place Interior design and furnishings International Institute for Management Development Lausanne, Switzerland

411

Abribus RC1, 2010–2012

Park+Ride Vennes, 2005–2010

Passage de la Mouline, 2009–2013

Park+Ride Montreux, 2011

412

2006–2011

L’Îlot-du-Centre Graphic concept for facades LO Immeubles SA Solvalor Fund Management SA Lausanne, Switzerland

2006–2008

Flon Les Mercier Graphic concept for facades and commercial activities LO Immeubles SA Lausanne, Switzerland

Apartment in Les Uttins, Rolle Interior design Private Client Rolle, Switzerland

2006–2007

The Architecture of Richter & Dahl Rocha Book design Birkhäuser Publishers for Architecture, Berlin, Basel, Boston

2001–2005

Clinique La Prairie Interior and furniture design Clinique La Prairie SA Clarens-Montreux, Switzerland

2006

Clestra Boà® Graphic design of glass office partition system Clestra Hauserman SA Strasbourg, France

2001–2005

Crédit Agricole (Suisse) SA Interior design of private banking spaces Lausanne, Lugano, Zürich, Basel, Geneva, Switzerland

2002–2003

Nestlé Suisse Headquarters Display design Nestec SA La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland

1998–2000

Nestlé Headquarters Executive Salon Furniture design for the executive lounge and VIP dining room Hugues Chevalier, Paris Vevey, Switzerland

2002

Nestlé Headquarters Company Store Facade concept, interior graphic design Nestec SA Vevey, Switzerland

1997–2000

Nestlé Headquarters Furniture design in collaboration with DAI Design and interior design for 800 staff and executive offices, and interior design and furnishings for the entrance hall, product exhibition space, and the new Belvédère reception space Nestec SA Vevey, Switzerland





Archigraphics

2014 2013



Richter Dahl Rocha & Associés Toward an Integral Practice of Architecture Book design Birkhäuser Publishers for Architecture, Berlin, Basel, Boston

2004–2005

Clestra pleinAir® Office partition system Clestra Hauserman SA Strasbourg, France

2002–2003

Nestlé Headquarters Company Store Facade, interior design, furnishings, and landscaping Nestec SA Vevey, Switzerland

2002



Dépot Grisoni-Zaugg Kinetic facade design on the A12 highway Groupe Grisoni-Zaugg SA Bulle, Switzerland

2008–2010

New Medical Technologies Clinic Project for signage and corporate identity Imtech Deutschland Moscow, Russia

2008

IMD Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center Signage design International Institute for Management Development Lausanne, Switzerland

2006–2011



2001–2005

Clinique La Prairie Corporate identity and signage Clinique La Prairie SA Clarens-Montreux, Switzerland

1999–2005

Grands Magasins Manor Corporate identity and signage for Manor commercial centers Maus Frères SA Vevey, Monthey, Sierre, Switzerland

IMD Signage Campus exterior signage design International Institute for Management Development Lausanne, Switzerland

2011 2008–2014





UBS Rhône Signage concept Competition, 1st Prize UBS SA Geneva, Switzerland

EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation Graphic design of facades and signage UBS Sima Real Estate Funds Parc Scientifique EPFL École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Écublens, Switzerland

Nestlé Headquarters Company Store, 2002–2003

413

Clinique La Prairie, 2001–2005

Nestlé Heardquarters Executive Salon, 1998–2000

EPFL Les Bois Chamblard, 2006–2012

414

RDR & Associés Architectes Jacques Richter

Ignacio Dahl Rocha

Jacques Richter was born in Lausanne in 1954. He received his degree in architecture from the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zürich, in 1979, and in 1981, he enrolled in the M. Arch program at Yale University, where he met Ignacio Dahl Rocha. After receiving the M. Arch at Yale in 1983, he practiced as an associate at Richter et Gut bureau d’architectes in Lausanne. His Espacité competition project (1987) was awarded first prize, and his SWHome housing system for the first EUROPAN competition (1989–90) was awarded the Lauréat for Switzerland. In 1993, Jacques Richter took over the office of Richter et Gut, and founded Richter & Dahl Rocha Architectes with Ignacio Dahl Rocha. From 1984 to 1989, he taught at the École d’Architecture Athenaeum Lausanne (EAAL). In addition to co-directing Richter Dahl Rocha, he serves on various committees and boards, including the Forum d’Architecture Romand (FAR) and the Comité de la Distinction Vaudoise d’Architecture (DVA). He is chair of the French-Swiss committee of the Centre Suisse d’Études pour la Rationalisation de la Construction (CRB). Richter was active in the Association Jardin Urbain in Lausanne for Lausanne Jardins in 2004 and 2009. He is a member of the Comité de la Chambre Vaudoise Immobilière (CVI) and the boards of the Fondation du Théâtre du Jorat and Compagnie Philippe Saire.

Ignacio Dahl Rocha was born in Buenos Aires in 1956. After completing his degree in architecture from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in 1979, he co-founded Billoch, Dahl Rocha, Ramos Arquitectos in Buenos Aires. In 1981, he enrolled in the M. Arch program at Yale University, where he met Jacques Richter. On graduating in 1983, Ignacio Dahl Rocha received Yale’s Award for Excellence in Architecture. He returned to practice with Billoch, Dahl Rocha, Ramos in Buenos Aires in 1983. For their Casa San Isidro of 1986, they were finalists in the 1988 Premio Internazionale di Architettura Andrea Palladio. In 1990, Ignacio Dahl Rocha joined the office of Richter et Gut bureau d’architectes. In 1993, he and Jacques Richter took over the practice of Richter et Gut and founded Richter & Dahl Rocha Architectes. He has taught and lectured at numerous universities in Europe, the United States, and Latin America, including Yale University, the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela, the Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, and the Universidad de Navarra in Spain. He was awarded the 2001 Premio Vitruvio for lifetime achievement as a LatinAmerican architect, the 2012 Premio Konex in Architecture, and the 2013 Premio Bienal de Arquitectura, Arquitecto Argentino en el exterior.

Kenneth Ross

Christian Leibbrandt

Kenneth Ross was born in Buenos Aires in 1964, and earned his degree in architecture from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in 1989. The following year, he joined Jacques Richter and Ignacio Dahl Rocha in the office of Richter et Gut bureau d’architectes in Lausanne, and three years later, the newly formed studio of Richter & Dahl Rocha Architectes. He became an associé of the office in 1999. Among numerous major projects realised by the design team Kenneth Ross directs are the renovation and transformation of the Nestlé Headquarters building, the Nestlé WellNes Centre, the Nestlé Product Technology Center Singen, various buildings on the campus of the International Institute for Management Development, and the EPFL Quartier Nord, SwissTech Convention Center and Student Housing complex.

Christian Leibbrandt was born in Basel in 1954. He received his degree in architecture from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in 1980, and in 1991 completed a dissertation for the EPFL and the Universidad de Buenos Aires on the theme of “Architecture et Autoconstruction: L’Approche des Processus Progressifs en Argentine.” In 1993, he joined Richter & Dahl Rocha Architectes, and became an associé of the office in 1999. Among major projects realised by the design team he directs are the Quartier des Uttins, the extension of Clinique La Prairie, the EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation, the extension of the Bobst Mex production facility, and the transformation of the UBS Rhône block including the historic Passage des Lions in Geneva. Christian Leibbrandt has been a member of the Union Patronale des Ingénieurs et Architectes Vaudois (UPIAV) since 2008.

Fabrizio Giacometti

Manuel Perez

Fabrizio Giacometti was born in Lausanne in 1966. He received his diploma in architectural draftsmanship (CFC) and then studied architecture at the École d’Ingénieurs de Genève (EIG), receiving the diploma in architecture (HES) in 1990. After practicing for several years in Lausanne and elsewhere, he founded his own office, establishing a contracting and real estate firm on behalf of a private developer, and later becoming head of a general construction company. He joined Richter & Dahl Rocha Architectes in 2007, bringing to the office his expertise in management and project realisation, and in 2009 became an associé of the office. He directs the Construction Management team responsible for all services related to the execution of Richter Dahl Rocha’s projects.

Manuel Perez was born in Sober in 1959. After graduating from the École d’Ingénieurs de Genève (EIG) in 1980, he worked for several offices in the Geneva area before joining Richter & Dahl Rocha Architectes at the moment of its creation. He became directeur of a design team in the office in 2005. Among major projects he has led are the Golay Buchel Headquarters, the renovation and transformation of the Nestlé headquarters, and the renovation and extension of Clinique La Prairie. Manuel Perez is currently working on the development of the Aquatis projects, the transformation of the SICPA Hermès production facility, and the extension of Les Bains de Saillon.

415

Hilario Dahl Rocha was born in Buenos Aires in 1980. He obtained his architecture diploma in 2009 from the Facultad de Arquitectura of the Universidad de Palermo in Buenos Aires. For his diploma project he was a finalist for the President’s Medal awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). He worked for architecture offices in Seville, Barcelona, and Buenos Aires before joining RDR in 2009. Hilario Dahl Rocha has led a design team with Frédéric Comby since 2011, and became a directeur adjoint of the office in 2013.

Frédéric Comby was born in Verbier in 1973. After graduating from the École d’Ingénieurs et d’Architectes de Fribourg in 1997, he joined RDR. He has worked on projects such as Clinique La Prairie, Chemin de Liseron, the transformation of Rue du Jura 9-11, and the extension of the Bobst Mex production facility, among others. Frédéric Comby has led a design team with Hilario Dahl Rocha since 2011, and became a directeur adjoint of the office in 2013.

Antoine Barc was born in Vannes in 1981. While studying architecture at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), he won the Fondation Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV) prize for the best studio project in 2004. He received his master’s degree in architecture in 2005, and after working in the offices of NPW Architectes in Geneva, joined RDR in 2006. Since 2008, he has worked on projects including the Abribus, Passage de la Mouline, EPFL Les Triaudes Student Housing, and the extension of the Bobst Mex production facility. He became a directeur adjoint of the office in 2013.

Santiago Pagés was born in Buenos Aires in 1974, and obtained his architecture degree from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in 2000. After teaching and practicing architecture in Argentina, he joined RDR in 2002. In 2007, he completed a master’s degree in advanced studies in architecture and sustainable development at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Since 2009, he has worked on projects such as Trait-Planches. As a directeur adjoint since 2013, he has been leading collaborations between RDR in Lausanne and RDR Arquitectos in Buenos Aires.

Baris Kansu was born in New York City in 1969. He received his degree in architecture from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in 1996. After working with various offices in Istanbul and New York, he joined RDR in 2001. Since 2005, he has worked on projects such as Route de Berne 46 and the IMD Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center. In 2013 he became a directeur adjoint of the office.

Nuno Santos Pereira was born in Lisbon in 1972. He received his architecture degree from the Universidade Técnica, Lisbon in 1997, and began practising in association with Carlos Sousa Dias, winning numerous competitions. He joined RDR in 2010, and has worked on projects such as ChampsMeunier Sud, Avenue de Gilamont, and SICPA Hermès. He became a directeur adjoint of the office in 2013.

Alexis Wintsch was born in Lausanne in 1964. In 1986 he earned a diploma (CFC) in architectural drafting, and practiced for four years before joining RDR in 2002. Since 2007, he has led projects including the IMD Nestlé Building, the Nestlé WellNes Centre, and the EPFL Quartier Nord SwissTech Convention Center. He received the diploma in architecture from La Fondation du Registre Suisse in 2008, and became a directeur adjoint of the office in 2013.

Anne-Sylvie Isely Lovy was born in Orbe in 1971. She obtained her federal accounting credentials in 1997, and worked as an accountant and trustee in the public sector before taking a position in the accounting and human resources department of a small private bank. In 2005, she joined RDR in the role of administrator, and in 2013, became directrice of the newly created Administration team.

RDR Design

RDR Arquitectos

Claudia Dell’Ariccia was born in Rome in 1967. She was awarded her master’s degree in design and management from the Politécnico di Milano in 1995, and in 2000, her diploma in architecture from La Sapienza, Università di Roma. After working with several design offices in Rome and Milan, she collaborated with Patricia Urquiola for several years before joining RDR in 2003. Among other projects for the office, she has worked on the interior design and extension of Clinique La Prairie and the Nestlé WellNes Centre. In 2009, she became a memeber of the direction as directrice of RDR Design SA. Under her leadership, the team develops the interior design and furnishing as well as archigraphics for major projects undertaken by RDR Architectes in Lausanne and RDR Arquitectos in Buenos Aires. Since 2003 Claudia Dell’Ariccia has also taught design and interior architecture at the École d’Architecture Athenaeum Lausanne (EAAL).

Bruno Emmer was born in Buenos Aires in 1973. He received his degree in architecture from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in 1998, joining the Lausanne office of RDR the same year. He has worked on projects such as La Verrière, Quartier des Uttins, and the extension of Clinique La Prairie. In 2005, he returned to Buenos Aires, and with Jacques Richter, Ignacio Dahl Rocha, and Bárbara Moyano Gacitúa, founded RDR Arquitectos to develop projects in Argentina and worldwide. In 2003, he began teaching and working as an assistant at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, and the Universidad de Buenos Aires. He is currently teaching at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella and the Universidad de Buenos Aires.

Marco Turin was born in La Pampa in 1971. He received his diploma in graphic design from the Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo, Universidad de Buenos Aires in 1995. After practising independently in La Pampa and Buenos Aires, in 2002 he joined RDR, where he has directed projects relating to corporate identity, visual communication, and archigraphics for Clinique La Prairie, International Institute for Management Development (IMD), UBS Rhône, Nestlé, Clestra Boà, EPFL Quartier de l’Innovation, Flon Les Mercier, and Centre Saint-Antoine, ManorVevey, among others.

Facundo Morando was born in Buenos Aires in 1982. He received his degree in architecture from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in 2007, with a special mention for best national student project. He worked for several different offices and entered competitions as an independent practitioner before joining RDR Arquitectos in 2009. Since 2007, he has held the Solsona-Salama Chair in architecture at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. In 2011, he participated in studios taught by Ignacio Dahl Rocha and Bruno Emmer at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires. We would also like to recognise Bárbara Moyano Gacitúa, co-founder of RDR Arquitectos in Buenos Aires, who has practiced independently as an architect in Buenos Aires since 2012; Susana Barra who was in charge of several projects in Urugay, and a member of the direction of the office until 2010; and Nicole Michel, also a member of the direction until 2012, who continues to work with RDR Arquitectos independently.

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Editorial Afterword

From the point of view of an editor with 20 years of experience commissioning and realising architectural publications, this is a most unlikely book. Departing from an unhealthy situation in publishing which separates professional and academic books on the one side from architectural monographs on the other, a separation that established itself at a time when architecture became fashionable enough for practices to use books as marketing tools back in the 1980s, this book brings together intentions and resources in a rare manner. The team who conceived, wrote, and realised it also conceived, designed, and realised its sujet, the architectural projects presented here. The architects looked at their own body of work as source material, taking stock and delivering an account of what they understand to be the state of the art and the state of the discipline of architecture. In this way, the role they assumed for themselves was not that of a book designer (although RDR Design, an independent team of the RDR group, did design the book), nor that of an artist whose œuvre would be explored and explained, nor that of a publisher who would promote an architect’s œuvre, but rather the role of author. In assuming this role and training their professional eye on their own projects going back over 20 years, the office of Richter and Dahl Rocha put their expertise and experience, as well as the material results, in the service of professional publishing. This is more than one can expect. Writing professional books is not considered a core business of architectural practices. On another note, looking at this book in this way is not an assessment of how successful it is in achieving its intentions and exploiting its resources. It is for the reader, the critic, and the book markets to make this assessment. Whatever the case may be, it is important to understand the value of the special type of book that emerged here as a possible model for future architectural publishing. It is obvious what the making of such a paradigmatic book requires in terms of time, resources, personal commitment, and above all collective culture and team work. So it may have been rather appropriate that, when strolling with Ignacio Dahl Rocha through late-night Lausanne after a dinner with the team following a long evening session, what came to mind were words addressed to another designer, the French landscape architect André Le Nôtre, centuries ago: “Vous êtes un homme heureux.” Andreas Müller