Three is a Magic Number
Situated in the north of Lausanne, the Plaines-de-Loup district is a new neighborhood housing 8’000 residents, including 3’000 jobs, green spaces, local sports facilities and essential public facilities such as schools, day nurseries, childcare units and a community centre covering 30 hectares. The construction started in 2018 and is aiming to finish in 2028.
The site of the project is a mineral courtyard of 100 square meters with four trees, in one of these new residential complexes, built by the architect Nicolas de Courten and constructed between 2018 and 2024. On the ground floor, two public facilities overlook the courtyard and all the upper floors are residential. The courtyard gather the entrances of the buildings, while allowing at the same time a permeability between the large urban complexes. The square is used quite intensively, with pedestrians flowing between the buildings, as a place to take a break, meet and talk to others.
Outdoor spaces are a very important part of community life, as they are a meeting place for residents and users, they are strategic places for the dynamics between tenants and passers-by.
The area at the heart of the square, where the intervention will take place, is a place for people to gather and exchange ideas. The aim is to put local residents at the center of the reflection, by encouraging a useful installation to facilitate relaxation and social interaction, for instance by providing seating, shelter or other common need. The work may contribute to the poetry of the site, but it should include the users and isn’t intended to be only contemplative.
The installation is south-exposed, onto a mineral square consisting of sandblasted concrete around the perimeter and semi-permeable ground in the centre, complemented by native tree planting. The installation must also allow the four trees on the site to grow.
The construction has to be rational and reduce operating and maintenance costs.
In this new district, the project aims to reinforce the synergy of the installation's programme with the neighborhood’s public space.
A bench, a stage and a gutter meet in the centre of the square. Their silhouettes are superimposed, moving towards and away from each other, articulating places of passage and activities. While the open perimeter of the square offers freedom to walkers, the centre, enlivened by these three structures, becomes a focal point for the neighborhood. Each of these elements reinvents ordinary everyday moments through their colored abstract forms, and by combining them they create an exterior that can be appropriated. The table, with its asymmetry, fulfills its dual role as an independent table and as a tiered seating area, in relation to the platform. With no seats on one side, it opens onto the centre of the square on a daily basis. However, on festive occasions, chairs can be placed on the other side, creating a large banquet table. Its power of appropriation lies in the absence of one element, stimulating the creativity of its users.
The blue platform has a spacious surface on which one can lie down and relax overlooked by the yellow gutter collecting rainwater and providing water for birds while providing a remarkable visual cue for the neighborhood.
The installation provides a different type of urban furniture, far from the standards and questioning them, at the frontier of an art installation. It encourages the inhabitants to engage with their neighbor and the environment, create spontaneous festive scenes, to make it their own. The potential of appropriation is given by the openness of the disposition of the three structures and the simplicity of their design. The colors also help to enliven ordinary everyday moments, compels the distracted passer-by to slow down and observe their surroundings.
