Inspired by the adjacent canal's pragmatic linearity and the industrial buildings located on the left bank, the second prize winning proposal, titled 'Stairway to Heaven' for the new high school appears as a linear volume located in the extension of the Veveyse promenade's perspective. Designed by PYO Arquitectos + Nomos Groupement d'Architectes + Pascal Heyraud Architecte Paysagiste, the basic organization of the building is staged with a central staircase of generous proportions linking a sequence of public spaces that interrupt diagonally the classrooms structural grid.More images and architects' description after the break.
The flights of the stair merge with the halls on each level. These open break rooms extend over the entire width of the building, from one façade to the other. The building´s spatiality follows the guidelines of the landscape structure, strengthening the line that connects Gilamont Temple and the Alps, through an uphill promenade which crosses diagonally the high school. The main staircase is illuminated through three skylights that intensify the monumentality of the social space.
On the first floor, the staircase leads to the aula, then successively to the interdisciplinary room, the cafeteria, and finally, the library and documentation center on the fourth floor. The sports hall (triple gym) is semi-buried ensuring the introduction of natural light while adapting harmoniously to the context, in particular to the terrace level where Gilamont temple is located. The classrooms are grouped in between the central staircase and the galleries located along the façade. From inside the classrooms, visual and atmospheric connections are generated between the different spaces.
The building's use and the supporting structure concept are closely related and mutually dependent. The pillars located on a 9 x 9 meters reticule and the reinforced concrete bidirectional slabs define the space. The proposed structure is efficient, economical, and easy to implement. The structural system is flexible and allows future programmatic adjustments.
Architects: PYO Arquitectos + Nomos Groupement d'Architectes + Pascal Heyraud Architecte Paysagiste
Location: Vevey, Switzerland
Design Team: Paul Galindo Pastre, Ophélie Herranz Lespagnol, Natalia Vera Vigaray, Patxi Martín Domínguez (PYO), Massimo Bianco, Lucas Camponovo, Jean-Michel Chartiel, Katrien Vertenten (NOMOS), Pascal Heyraud
Structural Engineer: MECANISMO (Juan Rey)
Building Services Engineers: GB CONSULT SA
Client: Ville de Vevey, Direction de l'Architecture et des Infrastructures
Status: Ecole de Copet Competition, second prize
Area: 14,000 square meters
Year: 2012
