HHF + AWP: EPFL pavilion in lausanne

‘EPFL pavilion in lausanne’ by HHF + AWP, lausanne, switzerland image © HHF + AWP

swiss firm HHF architekten and franch practice AWP collaborated on the proposal for the EPFL pavilions located on the place cosandey in lausanne, switzerland, adjacent to the SANAA-designed rolex learning center. the design integrates three complementary programs in vertical towers that converge in one dynamic space propped over the ground. the first leg, housing the montreux jazz lab, serves as a music venue with several stacked stages of varying sizes and a part-time cafe. a system of mobile partitions will combine or separate the several arenas connected to the restaurant called ‘backstage.’ as only one third of the site is taken up by the edifice, there is plenty of room for grassy fields and the ‘sound garden,’ an extension to the jazz lab consisting in a series of vegetated platforms that provide more stages.

the second spire holds the cultural and artistic pavilion which features a large open exhibition space with all the supporting structure located in the floor underneath. the final pièce de résistance is the welkom pavilion as the integral cap offering 360-degree views of the EPFL campus and the iconic rolex learning center. the roof of this component is comprised of the architecturally defining and extra-light structural material, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP).

entry into the tower image © HHF + AWP

art exhibition space, with a structural floor beneath an open display room image © HHF + AWP

one of the many stages image © HHF + AWP

illustrator sébastien perroud created a comic strip depicting the several functions and social implications of the new structure in relation to it’s neighbors and within itself.

image © sébastien perroud

image © sébastien perroud

image © sébastien perroud

image © sébastien perroud

image © sébastien perroud

image © sébastien perroud

image © sébastien perroud

image © sébastien perroud

image © sébastien perroud

image © sébastien perroud

image © sébastien perroud

image © sébastien perroud

image © sébastien perroud

project info:

team: hhf + awp project type: museum, concert hall and welcome center location: lausanne, switzerland team hhf: herlach hartmann frommenwiler with aleris rogers, yasuaki tanago, ivana barisic, nicole baron, pierre escobar,           david gregori y ribes, denis kolesnikov, laura sattin, benedict wahlbrink, magnus zwyssig team awp: m. armengaud, m. armengaud, a. cianchetta comic: sébastien perroud