The municipality of Belmont-sur-Lausanne is located in the immediate vicinity of the cantonal capital of Lausanne and has been growing noticeably since the 1950s. This growth includes a large number of new, loosely thrown residential buildings – and consequently the necessary infrastructure such as the school and community centre by 2b architectes as an extension of an existing school. According to the architects, existing and new buildings strengthen each other in their role of offering a versatile public space in the village. In addition to the school use, areas have been created for community events, music, sports and also privately rented rooms.
The topography, a steep hillside property, had a considerable influence on the external and internal organisation of the ensemble. The architects reacted to this special feature with a stepped building, which they added to the existing building, which was also terraced, in an L-shape. The long south façade thus opens up to the panoramic view of Lake Geneva and the Alps. The new and old buildings surround the playground with sports and playground; Part of it is a hilly landscape of rainbow-colored concrete for skaters.
In the central part of the five-storey, clearly gridded building with around 2500 square metres, level 0, the architects left four axes open: This is where the new main entrance is located. It can be reached via a simple concrete staircase that climbs along the entire south façade from street level down to the garden, and a small street called Chemin du Collège. At the same time, the broken up area in the building created a covered break area and a public passage under the new building over to the old building. The internal connections are at the -1 and +1 levels. The architects stacked the various uses on top of each other: Upstairs, on level +2, two municipal apartments with a large terrace facing west are furnished. The classrooms are lined up at level +1. From the access level you can access a multi-purpose room and the dining room behind it. The gymnasium occupies half the depth of the building and twice the room height over floors -1 and -2, while the changing rooms and sanitary rooms are located to the north. Inside, the warm feel of wood-clad surfaces (in the gymnasium and on the school floor) alternates with the rough charm of exposed concrete in the access zones.
Concrete
On the one hand, the planners chose a concrete construction in order to tie in with the material of the existing building. However, the building material offered them a variety of other advantages, including static ones: The building had to be particularly stable because of the steep and wet ground and the risk of slipping, and the foundation reaches deep into the earth. Other decision criteria were the durability and ease of care of the material and the possibility of producing the components on site, which minimized the energy required for transport (wood, for example, would have had to be brought in from far away). In addition, the concrete structure leaves room for future changes of use. With spans of up to 15 metres, the classrooms can be converted into apartments with relatively little effort if required.
For the external appearance, the architects staged their building as a large shelf made of "mineral-looking exposed concrete". The strict concrete grid determines the self-confident character of the house. At the same time, it frames the playful component, namely the floor-to-ceiling windows, which not only provide generous views on all sides, but also become a multitude of small stages through curtains and the life behind them. The users decide what takes place on the stages and how much insight they provide by drawing the curtains forward or back. In doing so, they set a lively counterpoint to the austerity of the house, which draws its charm precisely from this contrast.
[Source: beton.org] (https://www.beton.org/inspiration/architektur/objekt-details/schul-und-gemeindezentrum-belmont-sur-lausanne-schweiz/)
Photos: Roger Frei
