Exhibition on federal buildings
The opening of the exhibition “Constructions fédérales. L'architecture de la Suisse officielle" took place at Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) on March 22 and was attended by numerous well-known figures. Showing the architectural diversity of the Swiss Confederation buildings from 1848 to the present day, the itinerant exhibition will be held from March 23 to November 10, 2016 in eight Swiss cities. The Federal Statistical Office buildings, made by the architectural firm Bauart of which Prof. Emmanuel Rey from the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) is one of the partners, are also presented.
When constructions of Swiss Confederation are mentioned, we first think of the Swiss parliament and government buildings. However, the Confederation real estate stock does not only include Parliament, government and courts buildings: it also consists of diverse elements such as modern administrative centers, sports facilities, civil engineering structures, cultural objects, facilities dedicated to training and research, customs buildings and, of course, Swiss embassies abroad. This built heritage is the reflection of political, economic, cultural and historic evolution of Switzerland.
The exhibition organized by the Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (FBL) invites the visitor, through the presentation of selected buildings, to get acquainted with Swiss Confederation built heritage. After its opening at EPFL, the exhibition will stop in eight cities in Switzerland in the coming months (Lausanne, Zurich, Chur, Bellinzona, Sion, St. Gallen, Magglingen and Bern).
A book is also part of this exhibition launch. Edited by Hochparterre, it shows many plans and illustrations and explains the multiple construction and renovation carried out in recent years by the Swiss Confederation.