Bâtiment des Sciences de la Vie, UNIL

The new Life Sciences building for the University of Lausanne is situated on the highest point of the university campus. The building is elevated and allows for the creation of la Chambre: a new outside ‘room’ for public use with plenty of green coverage at the very heart of the building. La Chambre forms the central meeting space for students, researchers, staff and visitors. The building is compact and efficient with a clear and simple organization of spaces, structure, installations, routes and logistics. The programme has been organized as a stacking of functions. Each of the four levels contains a singular department with the research laboratories on the top two floors and the educational departments on the floors below. Patios, light wells and openings in the building establish views and connections between the different levels, to the sky above, to la Chambre below, and to the landscape beyond.