Graeme Mann & Patricia Capua Mann

School « Le Marais du Billet . Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne

courtesy of Graeme Mann & Patricia Capua Mann . + photos: © Thomas Jantscher

The community of Cheseaux is located north of the city of Lausanne.
Built in the heart of the village, slightly off the main street, the old school building has been preserved and reallocated as a municipal administration building. At the same time, a new school complex was built on the same lot. The site is crossed by a “green alley” which links the main street of the village to a belvedere which looks out onto the Jura mountains. The new school building is turned towards the countryside and is sited along this lane. Due to its position adjacent to the school and its regular geometry, the new schoolyard, for example, develops the notion of epicentre which gives it the look of a village square. Protected from automobile traffic, this new “village square” allows to organise major events and to underscore its ccca function.
Covered with metal slats, the façades of the two volumes share a common expression whose dynamics derive from the varying size of their windows. Equipped with much larger windows, the gym halls are reminiscent of “large classrooms”. To confirm the plasticity of the façades, the principal openings are underscored by large frames. The expression of the different layers that make up the façade is reinforced by the two-colour treatment of the metal elements and by the sliding windows positioned behind the façade’s covering.
The multi-orientated positioning of the classrooms enables teachers and students alike to enjoy the view in all four directions. To guarantee this multi-orientated effect in the typological organisation, the static structure of the school building is ensured by concrete shear walls in the form of flags superimposed at right angles. With regard to the semi-underground gym halls, this system is reinforced by a grid of concrete columns spread over the periphery of the volume, thus allowing visitors to see to the other side of the building.

School « Le Marais du Billet » Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne
2005 – 2008
Situation: « Le Marais du Billet », Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Vaud (Switzerland)
Client: Community of Cheseaux

Architects: Graeme Mann & Patricia Capua Mann,
architectes dipl. EPFL FAS SIA
Tekhné Management SA, Jean-Daniel Beuchat,
architecte dipl. EPFL
Assistants: Domink Riser, project architect
Competition date: 2004
Execution date: 2005 – 2008

Structural engineering: AIC ingénieurs conseils SA, Lausanne
Façade: Arteco SA, Montreux
Heating/ ventilation: Jacob Forrer SA, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne
Sanitation: Schumacher ingénierie SA, Gèneve
Lighting engineer: Perottet SA, Epalinges
Acoustic: Bureau d'ingénieur Gilbert Monay, Lausanne
Lighting: Aebischer et Bovigny, Lausanne
Landscape planning: L’atelier du Paysage Jean-Yves Le Baron Sàrl
Photographer: © Thomas Jantscher