Your favourite Swiss Building - Page 2

Mel07 · #21 25.11.2009, 20:21

	Quote:	Longbyt
	Schtroumpfs (generic Euro-speak for the “Smurfs”)

Thanks for the link Longbyt.

	Quote:
	on Rue Louis Favre, just off the main Rue de la Servette, you couldn’t fail to spot the public-housing estate which looks as though it’s been thrown together from plasticine. This is the Schtroumpfs (generic Euro-speak for the “Smurfs”), an exercise in Gaudi-esque fantasy which is worth a half-hour detour of anyone’s time. All the estate’s high-rises have lumps and blobs everywhere, giant mushrooms holding up balconies with cobweb railings, whimsical spiral staircases and twisted-liquorice columns, everything in a riot of primary colours. Pointless decoration in mosaics or arabesques covers the place. Designed by Robert Frei, Christian Hunziker and Georges Berthoud in the early 1980s for the municipality, it’s a mad exercise in architectural whim … but by all accounts the residents, who inevitably have come to be called Smurfs themselves, love it.

I love the last line, which I've put in bold, the residents love the building and are happy to be called Smurfs...so funny.

Macchiato · #22 25.11.2009, 20:25

I admire this hotel architecture (in Swisstanbul)

:

Tanuja · #23 25.11.2009, 20:26

	Quote:	Macchiato
	I admire this hotel architecture (in Swisstanbul):

Oh yuck....

#24 25.11.2009, 21:14

	Quote:	Mel07
	This building makes me laugh. What's the story with it? It looks so odd in Geneva, would be more at home in Barcelona with some of Gaudi's creations.

Yes, it is totally like Gaudi.

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamich...?from=ArtAvant

Those buildings were designed by Christian Hunziker. They are reasonably priced rental condos. I think the architect wanted to create a friendly environment and yes, he was inspired by the Smurfs/Schtroumpfs.

#25 25.11.2009, 21:22

The strange Ricola headquarter in Laufen. Plants everywhere.

zürihegel · #26 25.11.2009, 22:00

	Quote:	LaurieHK
	... It's the Vitra House at Vitra headquarters in Basel...

A little help with geography: The Vitra headquarters are in Weil am Rhein (Germany), the neighbouring town of Basel. Good not only for shopping, by the way

nqnln · #27 25.11.2009, 22:37

	Quote:	LaurieHK
	The second is not done by a Swiss Architect, but he does live in Zurich (as far as i know) so it was designed in Switzerland.... It's the library of the ETH University by the Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava and is breath-taking. I went last week for a look around and almost wet myself.

and the "Calatrava library" is part of the University of Zurich, not the ETH

Myyy favourite building in Switzerland?

I think the Mövenpick/service station at Würenlos on the A1 is a great use of space. The Fressbalken seems really spacious inside, and yet it's all just a bridge over a busy motorway. It is however quite ugly... So it doesn't win my overall award.

shall have to give this one some thought...

Mel07 · #28 25.11.2009, 22:48

	Quote:	nqnln
	and the "Calatrava library" is part of the University of Zurich, not the ETH Myyy favourite building in Switzerland? I think the Mövenpick/service station at Würenlos on the A1 is a great use of space. The Fressbalken seems really spacious inside, and yet it's all just a bridge over a busy motorway. It is however quite ugly... So it doesn't win my overall award. shall have to give this one some thought...

Errmm, yes. Could only find this pick of the outside and you're right, it won't win any beauty contests. I'll have to make a note to stop there when I'm next on the A1 to check out the inside.

#29 26.11.2009, 01:33

The "sphinx" on the Jungfrau is an interesting building. The panoramic view is certainly amazing.

#30 26.11.2009, 03:05

Not a building but a set of temporary buildings and structures. Who remembers the National Expo in 1964 in Lausanne? I went as a kid and it was absolutely amazing. There was a monorail, a submarine, and all kinds of activities. It was in the middle of the 1960s economical boom and the Expo 64 reflected that very well.

How does this work?

Below is the Expo surrounding the Maladiere roundabout:

The few things that are left from the Expo are the pyramids:

The Vallee de la Jeunesse:

And the Vidy theater:

#31 26.11.2009, 03:46

I don't like modern architecture,

except this, it takes my breath away every time I see the picture

#32 26.11.2009, 04:20

	Quote:	Mel07
	I spent a lot of time at Bellerive Plage over the summer and grew to love the entrance and restaurant building. When I looked into it I found it was built in the 30s during some tough economic times. No machines were allowed in the building of it so it was a big boost to employment in the region. An "economic stimulus" building. Designed by a Lausanne architect called Marc Piccard. Here is some more info on the building. http://www.lausanne.ch/view.asp?DocId=27852&Language=E

Mel,
If you are interested by the Bellerive swimming pool, you may want to watch the following documentary on the TSR archives:
http://archives.tsr.ch/player/baignade-bronzes

#33 26.11.2009, 17:07

Mel,
Thanks for telling us about the book dedicated to J.Tschumi. Tschumi was to participate to the Lausanne Expo 64 and he had plans for it. He sadly passed away before.
You did mention it, but the aula of EPFL was very advanced and it gave the civil engineers headaches on how to make the structure sound (and there were problems even after completion):

Here is a better view of the Nestle building. You can also see the lake through the building. It seems to be a recurring theme in Tschumi's work.
the Y shape seemed to have been trendy at the time (like the New Otani in Tokyo).

Ketan · #34 26.11.2009, 17:20

Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern

Mel07 · #35 26.11.2009, 20:21

	Quote:	ch-expat
	Not a building but a set of temporary buildings and structures. Who remembers the National Expo in 1964 in Lausanne? I went as a kid and it was absolutely amazing. There was a monorail, a submarine, and all kinds of activities. It was in the middle of the 1960s economical boom and the Expo 64 reflected that very well. The few things that are left from the Expo are the pyramids:

I spend a lot of time at the Vallee de la Juenesse with the kids and had heard that it was built for the '64 expo. What a legacy for Lausanne! That park and community centre is fantastic.

The pyramids, on the other hand, I'm not so keen on. Probably because the trainer I used to help me sheds the last few post-baby kilos had me running up and down them way too often.

And BTW I'm with you on the whole expo thing. I went to Expo '88 in Brisbane as a teenager. It was the coolest thing. I don't remember a submarine though...Lausanne had us beat there.

Mel07 · #36 26.11.2009, 20:25

Probably my favourite ever architect, Le Corbusier built a house for his parents just up the road in Vevey.

Villa Le Lac from 1924

It sits right on the lake and I always try and pick it out when I take a boat between Lausanne and Vevey.

Mel07 · #37 26.11.2009, 20:31

	Quote:	Ketan
	Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern

Ahhh, Renzo Piano. How cool is he? I love the Pompidou Centre in Paris.

Thanks for posting this. Another one on my list to visit. And the art inside might be pretty good too.

#38 26.11.2009, 20:39

	Quote:	Mel07
	I spend a lot of time at the Vallee de la Juenesse with the kids and had heard that it was built for the '64 expo. What a legacy for Lausanne! That park and community centre is fantastic. The pyramids, on the other hand, I'm not so keen on. Probably because the trainer I used to help me sheds the last few post-baby kilos had me running up and down them way too often. And BTW I'm with you on the whole expo thing. I went to Expo '88 in Brisbane as a teenager. It was the coolest thing. I don't remember a submarine though...Lausanne had us beat there.

I wish that they would have saved a few more things from the Expo. The submarine (abandoned for many years) is now at the transportation museum in Lucerne.
The EPFL aula that you mention is quite dated but at the time it was sensational and I remember visiting it with my parents. It is right next to the La Vaudoise building if you want to see the place.

#39 27.11.2009, 00:12

	Quote:	Mel07
	Probably my favourite ever architect, Le Corbusier built a house for his parents just up the road in Vevey. Villa Le Lac from 1924 It sits right on the lake and I always try and pick it out when I take a boat between Lausanne and Vevey.

It is a tiny house (16X4m). It is a concrete block and has the layout of a RV/Caravan.
From the lake:

Sharl · #40 27.11.2009, 18:10

What a fantastic post, thank you! As a young architect only recently arrived in Switzerland, you have all given me such an incredible list of buildings to head out to see!