Are there guidelines or incentives for high-quality Baukultur?

The museum district Plateforme 10 opened in the summer of 2022 on the site of the former SBB locomotive depot adjacent to the Lausanne railway station. The site was planned on the basis of a competition in which 18 teams took part. From competition launch to completion, the process took about twelve years. In addition to the previously completed Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts (MCBA), the shared new home for Photo Elysée and the Mudac design museum is now also finished.

Does the place adapt while at the same time preserving its built heritage?

In central locations throughout Switzerland, SBB owns land that is no longer needed for its original use. SBB transferred ownership of the approximately 20,000-square-metre plot in Lausanne to the canton of Vaud so it could commence the planning of the new MCBA. In one central location, Plateforme 10 now unites three museums that were previously scattered across the city, plus two foundations and various restaurants. For walkers and cyclists, the newly opened site also provides a direct link from Lausanne’s west to the railway station.

Is the place maintained and sustainably developed?

The site reveals little of its former use and the SBB’s workshops. All the historic buildings and nearly all the tracks have been removed. Preserved are the turntable at the district’s entrance, once used for the railway wagons, and a fragment of the old transverse hall. This historic component, which features a large arched window, was integrated into the MCBA’s track-side longitudinal façade by its architects. The charm of bygone industrial buildings has mostly been replaced by neat, contemporary architecture and plaza design.

Will the place remain attractive in the long term for living, working, leisure and/or tourism?

With this project, the Canton of Vaud fulfils its mandate to promote and preserve its own cultural institutions. All three museums were previously housed in old buildings that were poorly suited for contemporary use. The new buildings now provide more exhibition space and more room for the collections. With the museum district, the Canton also seeks to attract more tourists from abroad.

Does the place foster community?

Although Plateforme 10 is open to all, its offerings are primarily aimed at people with an affinity for culture. Inspired by the surviving former turntable for railway wagons, large roundels of concrete and wood invite people to sit, recline or play in the vast outdoor space. It is easily imaginable that the people of Lausanne will also appropriate the place for other purposes, and that this place will establish itself as a meeting place for locals and visitors alike.

Was the place thoroughly analysed prior to the intervention?

After an initial project to build the new MCBA on the shores of Lake Geneva failed, the Canton of Vaud launched a new competition for this site in 2010. It called for both the new building and a master plan for the entire site. Once the architectural and political hurdles had been overcome, construction work on the MCBA began in 2016 and it was opened in 2019. The museum now has many times the exhibition space of its old location at its disposal. In a second step, the Canton organised another competition in 2015 for the new building to be shared by Photo Elysée and Mudac.

Does the place foster attachment to place?

To the west of Lausanne station, the Plateforme 10 museum district creates a cultural focal point similar to those we know from other cities. Thanks to the institutions’ proximity to each other and their shared cultural focus, such places have the potential to be fertile ground for novelty. These can be low-threshold, spontaneous activities as well as large, organised events, all of which connect people.

Does the place have an atmospheric impact on the beholder?

The quality of the design and construction of the new buildings and the renovated arcades is high. The outdoor space, with a hardscape that is almost completely sealed and currently has little greenery, is still not very inviting. It would be nice to have an outdoor area that links the place to its surroundings, embedding it and providing more shade on warm days. Once the trees grow a bit bigger, the face of Plateforme 10 will change.