Lausanne’s architectural oddities
After moving to Lausanne in 2018, I started going quite regularly on evening walks in the city. And I thought it would be fun to take pictures of some of the weirder architecture I came across. As I don’t know anything about periods, movements, trends in architecture, I can’t provide any context except whatever a quick search turns up.
I love the size of this house, and I wouldn’t mind owning something similar, although with a nicer view than this one has:
![Chemin de Boston 10–12 Chemin de Boston 10–12](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/1.jpeg)
The same building 3 years later from a wider angle, with a graffiti by crbz in the foreground:
![Chemin de Boston 10–12 Chemin de Boston 10–12](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/15.jpeg)
This next one surely has some distinct looks, with the circular corner tower, all kinds of different windows, wood elements on the upper floors, striped shades, etc.:
![Chemin de la Dranse 7 or 11 Chemin de la Dranse 7 or 11](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/2.jpeg)
Here’s another weird mix of features, a mere 100m away. Look at that chimney:
![Chemin Aimé-Steinlen 1 Chemin Aimé-Steinlen 1](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/13.jpeg)
On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, there is this ultra simplistic style:
![Rue du Jura 6 Rue du Jura 6](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/3.jpeg)
I passed the centre de vie enfantine de Valency every time I was exiting the city towards the north-west for a mountain bike ride:
![Centre de vie enfantine de Valency Centre de vie enfantine de Valency](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/5.jpeg)
The Collège du Belvédère surely deserves its name, because the view from its esplanade is stunning. Its architecture and landscaping have some details that—I think, again, I have no clue—feel very 1950s. I would recommend a visit of that one, it’s not far from the train station, and you can chill in the park and enjoy the view.
![Collège du Belvédère Collège du Belvédère](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/6.jpeg)
In Prilly, western Lausanne, in the middle of your regular apartment buildings, there is a Chemin des Chalets with… wooden chalets!
![Chemin des Chalets, Prilly Chemin des Chalets, Prilly](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/7.jpeg)
The next one is a very unlikely spot for a building:
![Escaliers de la Barre 8 Escaliers de la Barre 8](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/8.jpeg)
In the same neighborhood, I once spotted the Château Saint-Maire in front of the Alps peeking through between buildings:
![Chemin de Mémise Chemin de Mémise](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/9.jpeg)
Sometimes, urban planning puzzles me a bit. Like for this parking space in the city center:
![wasted space between Avenue Agassiz and Avenue Sainte-Luce wasted space between Avenue Agassiz and Avenue Sainte-Luce](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/10.jpeg)
I would expect a setting like in the following picture in some Mediterranean country, but not in the middle of Lausanne, right on a major street:
![Route Aloys-Fauquez 3 Route Aloys-Fauquez 3](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/11.jpeg)
Another place I would not mind living at is in these narrow colorful houses with lawns:
![Avenue de Morges 71 Avenue de Morges 71](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/12.jpeg)
An unusually painted church:
![Avenue de Cour 139 Avenue de Cour 139](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/14.jpeg)
The final 2 pictures are not about buildings per se, but one of my favorite views in Lausanne: la Colline du Languedoc. I wouldn’t mind living in one of the houses in that neighborhood.
![Colline du Languedoc Colline du Languedoc](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/4.jpeg)
![Chemin du Languedoc 23 Chemin du Languedoc 23](/assets/img/2022-10-02-Lausanne-s-architectural-oddities/16.jpeg)