BÂTIMENT DE RESTAURATION ET DE CONFÉRENCE – AGROSCOPE, POSIEUX – SWITZERLAND, 2017

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
2ND PRIZE
WITH FILIPPO BOLOGNESE

THE NEW VOLUME RISES IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE CONSTRUCTION SITE, ALONG THE OUTER EDGE OF THE CA AND AD BUILDINGS. TOGETHER WITH THE CA BUILDING, IT FORMS A SORT OF GATEWAY TO THE AGROSCOPE COMPLEX AT THE CORNER. TOWARDS THE INTERIOR, THE BUILDING DEFINES A SQUARE, A CENTRAL POINT CONNECTING ALL THE COMPLEX’S FUNCTIONS.

DESPITE ITS COMPACT SIZE, THE BUILDING’S GEOMETRY IS CLEAR AND RECOGNIZABLE BOTH FROM THE CANTONAL ROAD AND BY AGROSCOPE’S USERS AND STAFF. ITS SHAPE GENERATES TWO MAIN FACADES: A VERTICAL ONE FACING THE SQUARE, WITH THE MAIN ENTRANCES, AND A SLOPING ONE FACING THE LANDSCAPE, CONSISTING OF THE LARGE ROOF.

THE BUILDING RESTS ON A CONCRETE PLINTH THAT DEFINES THE SITE’S TWO MAIN LEVELS. TO THE WEST, IT HOUSES THE RESTAURANT’S PUBLIC SPACES; TO THE EAST, THE SQUARE SERVES AS ACCESS TO THE NEW VOLUME AND THE EXISTING BUILDINGS. THE PLINTH CONTAINS THE FOYER, LECTURE HALL, ARCHIVES, GOODS RECEPTION, STORAGE, AND TECHNICAL ROOMS, AND SUPPORTS A TIMBER STRUCTURE THAT FORMS THE LARGE ROOF. INSIDE, THE RESTAURANT, STUDY CENTER, AND CARETAKER’S APARTMENT ARE LOCATED. THE DINING AREA IS SLIGHTLY RAISED, OVERLOOKING THE MEADOWS, THE ALPS, AND THE CHAPELLE DU SACRÉ-COEUR.

THESE CONCEPTS FORM THE TRACE FOR THE PROJECT’S DEVELOPMENT AND ARE PRIMARILY AIMED AT DEFINITIVELY ESTABLISHING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGROSCOPE AND WHAT WE CONSIDER TO BE ITS MAIN RESOURCE: THE TERRITORY.

Collaborators: Simone Marmori
Team: Borlini & Zanini, Visani Rusconi Talleri, Elettroconsulenze Solcà, Andrea Roscetti
Images: © Filippo Bolognese