Timber Pavilion, Theatre of Vidy-Lausanne

An outsized example of Japanese origami

2017 Timber Pavilion, Theatre of Vidy-Lausanne (CH)

Location Lausanne, Switzerland
Client Théâtre de Vidy, Lausanne
Architect Yves Weinand Architectes sàrl, locally assisted by Atelier Cube
Timber Engineering Bureau d’Etudes Weinand, Liège
Technological transfer Laboratory for Timber Constructions, IBOIS, EPFL
Prof. Dr Yves Weinand, Didier Callot, Anh Chi Nguyen, Aryan Rezaei Rad
Completed 2017
Awards Mention Régionale Prix Lignum 2018
Grand Prix d’Architecture de Wallonie 2019

The Vidy Pavilion project is the world’s first realization of a large structure assembled entirely using wood-wood joints.

This pavilion is the manifesto of new horizons and new forms for contemporary wooden architecture, made possible thanks to new technologies. Its origami shape, with sloping sides and sharp edges, contrasts with the strictly vertical and horizontal surfaces, the cubic volumes, the traditional column-beam system and truss structure.

Timber and its industrial by-products are a multifunctional material, which can be, in turn and simultaneously, façade, envelope, structure and roof.

@ Alain Herzog / EPFL
@ Ilka Kramer
@ Ilka Kramer
@ Ilka Kramer

Text: Sandrine Perroud
Source: Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering | ENAC
Images: Alain Herzog / Ilka Kramer