Visit of the Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne
Théâtre de Vidy-Lausanne © Ville de Lausanne/Matthieu Gafsou
The teaching unit UPCYCLING, part of the axis « Integrated Design, Architecture and Sustainability (IDEAS) », visited the Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne. This architectural excursion resonates with the issues addressed within the framework of this course, dedicated to the interdisciplinary design of a temporary pavilion.
The UPCYCLING teaching unit focuses on the integration of sustainability issues into architectural design, with special attention to savings in resources. Dedicated to the interdisciplinary design of a temporary pavilion, it gathers about forty EPFL students supervised by lecturers from the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST), the Laboratory of Integrated Performance in Design (LIPID) and the Structural Xploration Lab (SXL).
The teaching unit will center around this issue of finding balance between meeting needs and saving resources, focusing on the design of a temporary architectural object. More specifically, the students will be asked to design a temporary pavilion dedicated to hosting participatory processes, integrating recycled elements, satisfying users’ comfort requirements and managing the ecological load induced by their projects.
The visit of the Théâtre de Vidy-Lausanne was conceived in this spirit. Designed and built by artist and architect Max Bill for the 1964 National Exhibition, the Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne was originally intended to be a temporary 6-month facility. The recent transformation, renovation and extension of the theater by PONT12 architects had a twofold objective: firstly, to bring the existing building into compliance with standards (particularly in terms of energy, fire safety and sanitation) and, secondly, to adapt the theatrical tool to today's stage use.