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image: © Hisao Suzuki |
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Built on the campus of Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne the Rolex Learning Centre is a vast, fluid space covering 20,000sq m. From above it resembles a golf course with its rolling hills and putting greens. Its square periphery is punctuated by round, glass-fronted courtyards that brings the different sections of the building in contact with each other. In keeping with previous SANAA projects, such as the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art Kanazawa, Japan, the centre is a seamless network of spaces and incorporates a library, restaurants, cafes, study and social spaces on a single floor. Its most impressive features are its gentle sloping form and the way that the building lifts off the ground in places to allow for access underneath it. This required new and complex methods of construction – none of which are visible in the light pillars that are dotted throughout the building. The Rolex Learning Centre looks like an effortlessly elegant architectural promenade. We will publish a more in-depth report in the forthcoming issue of icon.
image: © Hisao Suzuki
image: © Hisao Suzuki
image: © Hisao Suzuki
image: © Hisao Suzuki |
Words Johanna Agerman |
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