Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG)

Winner of the 2017 Bilan Award in the Administrative Building category, the building at 12A Avenue de la Gare houses the new administrative headquarters of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), reinforcing Lausanne's privileged position in the world of sport.

Although the project was designed to affirm the representativeness associated with an international sports institution, it is nonetheless influenced by the urban context and the memory of the place.

The plot, which became buildable in 2006, was occupied by a little-used garden, discreetly nestled behind a high rubble masonry base, somewhat hidden from the bustle of Avenue de la Gare.


The contiguous order at the top of the avenue meets here with a more open area, consisting of a row of detached mansions, set back on a rubble stone base. Exploiting the ambiguity of its position between two distinct urban fabrics, the project seeks to articulate the characteristics of each of them, acting as an urban hinge. Thus, the new headquarters aligns itself with the contiguous order upstream, while distinguishing itself with a rustic bush-hammered concrete base reminiscent of the rubble stone of the neighbouring buildings further downstream.

The project does not exploit the building potential authorised by the Lausanne General Land Use Plan (PGA), as a building restriction was agreed between the municipality – the former owner of the plot – and the FIG, with the city wishing to limit the volume built due to the context.


The main challenge of the project was to find the right balance between integration and assertiveness, and to propose, in a strong and consolidated urban context, a representative building with a clearly contemporary expression.


The entrance to the building is located on the north side, away from the noise pollution of the avenue, thus preserving the massive expression of the building's base.
The ground floor comprises a reception area, a conference room for 40 people served by four translation booths, and a cafeteria overlooking the garden and its terrace. The three standard floors house 1,500 m² of office space, and the 300 m² attic space is intended to eventually host seminars and conferences. The five above-ground levels are complemented by a semi-underground car park and a basement dedicated to the Federation's technical and archival facilities.


A single service core is located on the north façade, near the entrance. Its off-centre position optimises the use of space, while the load-bearing system, composed of prestressed slabs, frees up floor space with virtually no intermediate supports. The lighter structure of the attic is made of metal framing.


The building's volume is expressed through a structure formed by a metal grid placed on a masonry base. The recessed attic acts as a crowning element. It extends the shimmering bronze colour of the main structure, but with a lighter rhythm. On its south-western side, the top floor is hollowed out to make way for a generous panoramic terrace.


The building's grid-like composition echoes its illustrious neighbour opposite, the Edipresse Tower. But unlike this icon of the 1960s, the new building features architecture that exploits the depth of the skin and a façade thickness that references the neighbouring buildings dating from the Belle Époque. It is this thickness, combined with a tight 1.26 m grid, which creates, despite a very high proportion of glazing, a perception of opacity where metal dominates, contributing to the building's integration into its context.

The technical choices made for the building, which meets the Minergie label, aim for energy efficiency that prioritises ease of use and economy of means. Heat is provided by district heating. The exposed reinforced concrete slabs have no false ceilings, improving energy efficiency thanks to their inertia. All technical distribution systems are concentrated in the floors. The hygienic air supply is mainly embedded in the slab, while a secondary distribution system in the raised floor provides additional supply for the conference rooms. The façade also features opening windows, which contribute to the well-being of users. The roof is devoid of the installations typically found in buildings that meet Minergie requirements. These have been deliberately housed in the basement in order to free up the roof for complete greening, out of consideration for the views from the buildings overlooking it.