Residential Development “Les Uttins” Rolle, Switzerland, 1998–2002

Abstract

This project consists of a series of buildings, essentially a new neighborhood in its own right, near the old center of the medieval town of Rolle on the shore of Lake Geneva between the two major urban centers Geneva and Lausanne. Just walking distance from both the center of the town and the lake, “Les Uttins” consists of three commercial and administrative buildings (A, B, and C) and four apartment buildings (D, E, F, and G). Presented here is the first apartment complex, “The Oaks” (D). This building houses 28 units with the uncommon feature of dual orientation to their lush park setting and the nearby lake. Its shape is the result of combining a series of long horizontal planes forming terraces and balconies facing the park with three compact volumes containing the apartments. It thus appears to have a dual nature: From the road, the volumes of the three housing blocks stand out and suggest a medium-scale housing typology, while from the park, the project presents itself as a more unified whole (the continuity of the terraces evokes the bar building typology) that merges with the landscape.