Photographer: Matthieu Gafsou | ArchDaily

Of a Feather: The Hidden Architecture of Bird Watching

Olivia Poston — Sun, 17 Aug 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Around the world, a passionate community of bird watchers, from novice observers to seasoned ornithologists, is drawn to the subtle movements, distinct calls, and remarkable migrations of birds. This global fascination has led to the creation of thoughtfully designed spaces by architects and designers, enhancing the bird-watching experience while respecting the ecological landscapes in which they are placed.

Vidy Theater Renovation and Extension / PONT12 architectes

Hadir Al Koshta — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Designed by Max Bill in 1964 for the National Exhibition, the theatre was initially intended for just six months of use. Its acquisition by the City of Lausanne, under the leadership of director Charles Apothéloz, and the continuation of its theatre activities have made it possible to conserve part of the large pavilion. Several successive teams have made Vidy an international reference, a major contribution to the cultural influence of Lausanne.

Daillens Sports Facility / LOCALARCHITECTURE

Pilar Caballero — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0000

With its small environmental footprint, the design for the new changing rooms and refreshment bar at Daillens Sports Centre is pioneering and ambitious, despite its modest functional programme. The old municipal changing facilities, dating from the 1970s, had become too run-down to renovate. And so the local authority decided to provide new facilities for its football team, FC Venoge. The building is organised along the axis of the football pitch, stretching out elegantly and topped with a large metal roof. The roof looks paper-thin, its ridge echoing the ridges of the Jura mountains in the background. The building is mainly made of wood, covering an area of less than 400 m2. It houses changing rooms and showers for the players along with a refreshment bar and its associated amenities and a space for the bowls club.

The Versatility of HPL Panels for Interior Spaces

Eduardo Souza — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 01:30:00 +0000

HPL (High Pressure Laminate) panels are made of Kraft paper impregnated with phenolic resins, subjected to heat and pressure. A decorative layer with synthetic polymer allows the sheets to have numerous color and texture options, providing an extremely high strength and durability. This is why HPL is widely used in façades, but it is also increasingly being considered for interior wall cladding, for partitions and lockers, as well as for furniture. It is a material that can be used outdoors and indoors, and even on horizontal surfaces.

3 Attached Houses / PONT12 architectes

Alexandria Bramley — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 10:00:00 +0000

3 attached houses replace a villa from the 1950s in a residential area overlooking Lausanne. The project makes maximum use of the plots potential for densification while taking care, through its form and materiality, to fit into its suburban and green context.

Observation Hut Île aux Oiseaux / LOCALARCHITECTURE

Paula Pintos — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

In 2016, the Lausanne ornithology club (COL: Cercle Ornithologique de Lausanne) acquired a small cabin facing Île aux Oiseaux (“Bird Island”) at Préverenges, an artificial biotope reclaimed from the lake in 2001 and now classified as an official nature reserve. Its location is connected to the natural estuary of the Venoge, a river that flows into Lake Geneva. This is one of the main stopping places for migratory waders in Switzerland, primarily due to its unique geographic situation in the axis of the Rhône valley. Birds arriving from Africa stop here before moving on to their distant summer quarters in the Arctic tundra.

Immeuble Verdeaux Housing / Dreier Frenzel Architecture + Communication

Paula Pintos — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Immeuble Verdeaux is a housing building located on a very specific plot, whose triangular shape allowed very few possibilities to be inhabited. By pushing the vertical circulation out of the envelope of the building, the surface is maximized on each floor. The typology plays then a double game, with on one hand clear-shaped night spaces and on the other hand a daily space evolving in a row with pinching and dilating effects.

Flon Hotel / LOCALARCHITECTURE

Paula Pintos — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 01:00:00 +0000

Located at the western edge of Lausanne’s central Le Flon district, this hotel building presents a monolithic mineral block that blends with the site’s industrial heritage. Utilising the template provided by the district’s street plan to optimum effect, the design echoes the dense urban grid patterns characteristic of Le Flon’s traditional warehouses and completes the square from which it is accessed. The four façades are uniform in appearance, their repeat motifs created by prefabricated concrete units. The design reflects the individual room modules, creating a continuous pattern of facets and folds across the building’s four sides. At ground level, geometric pillars tapering towards the base balance this massive carapace on more delicate points.

New Apostolic Church / LOCALARCHITECTURE

Paula Pintos — Sat, 07 Dec 2019 13:00:00 +0000

The extension of Lausanne’s New Apostolic Church was designed to draw out the existing building’s intrinsic qualities. We felt it was essential to follow the clear diagonal lines that underpin the organisation of its spaces and circulation flows, and which are its defining features.

MOKA / Concrete and the woods

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 02:00:00 +0000

MOKA is a renovation project of a little chalet in Yvonand, a touristic village on the south shore of the lake of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The area is very natural and intensively wooded, inhabited by approximatively 3’000 people. While in summer the wild beaches become crowdy and the sun brings life to this tiny place, in winter everything gets darker and mystic. The fog and the cold humid wind alternate to create a less comfortable environment and exposes the constructions to difficult conditions.

Le Vaud Polyvalent Hall / LOCALARCHITECTURE

Daniel Tapia — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 06:00:00 +0000

Le Vaud’s new community hall is a multipurpose public infrastructure designed to serve and bring together the entire village community. Hosting sports activities, shows, and community events, it supplements existing school facilities while opening up new possibilities for the village and its surrounding communities. The hall’s entrance is sited very appropriately on the road connecting the village church and the school entrance.

13 Beautiful Barns from Around the World

María Francisca González — Sun, 15 Apr 2018 12:00:00 +0000

This week we present a selection of the best photographs of barns, both still in use and converted for residential use, that we have previously published on our site. These 13 projects reveal the relationship of these agricultural areas with rural work, the storage of food and livestock, and the imposing natural landscape in which they are located. Read on to see images from prominent photographers including Erich Spahn, David Aebi, and Matthieu Gafsou.

Roof extension of Sylvana Hospital / 2b architectes

Daniel Tapia — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 08:00:00 +0000

The University Care and Rehabilitation Centre Sylvana (CUTR) occupies a former sanatorium built in 1913 in Epalinges, a municipality situated above the City of Lausanne, on an exceptional site at the edge of the woods overlooking the entire Lake Geneva region. 

International Motorcycling Federation / LOCALARCHITECTURE

Sabrina Leiva — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 04:00:00 +0000

Elegant and iconic, the new headquarters of the FIM (International Motorcycling Federation) had to wait ten years before taking shape on a site in the outskirts of Geneva where road and railway meet.

Public Pavilion of New Zoological Park La Garenne / LOCALARCHITECTURE

Cristobal Rojas — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 01:00:00 +0000

INTRODUCTION

Steiner School / LOCALARCHITECTURE

Daniel Sánchez — Thu, 01 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Located in a green belt of Lausanne's western metropolitan area, the school building of Bois-Genoud integrates the Rudolf Steiner pavilion campus.

Hangar Agricole / LOCALARCHITECTURE

Sebastian Jordana — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 01:00:00 +0000

The "Cerisier" domain is a large agricultural facility, located at the foot of Mount Chasseral, at an altitude of 1'000 meters.