LOCALARCHITECTURE

Description

Located in a green zone west of Lausanne’s city centre, the École de Bois-Genoud is part of an ensemble of pavilions comprising the campus of the Rudolf Steiner School of Lausanne. Laid out on three storeys, the new building takes up the external circulation principle used in the existing pavilions. The staircase and the ramp give onto broad exterior access walkways that lead directly to the cloakrooms and classrooms. The walkways are also used as outdoor classroom extensions, promoting teaching in harmony with the natural environment in keeping with the educational principles of the school. Executed completely in timber, the building has a closed northern façade that protects the interior from traffic noise coming from the nearby motorway. The fully glazed southern façade acts as a relatively large passive solar collector. In the summertime, the façade is shaded somewhat by the exterior walkways, guarding it from overheating. In order to further emphasise the relationship between the interior spaces and the lush vegetation of the setting, the walkways are hung from the roof with a series of steel tie rods.