The new building at the legendary Swiss school will be named Carnal Hall after the school’s founder, Paul Carnal.
The winning scheme proposed by Bernard Tschumi Architects, an architectural practice with offices in New York and Paris, features a low, stainless-steel dome to define the site. The facility is designed in such a way as to spatially organise the dissimilar parts of the programme. The centre features an 800-seat concert hall, a black box theatre, conference rooms, a learning centre attached to a library, a teaching centre, practice rooms for music and the arts, and several relaxation spaces featuring a restaurant, a café and a student lounge.
The architects have created a series of side openings that are designed to articulate the periphery of the dome. A terrace is inserted at centre near the apex. This terrace provides views of Lake Geneva. The focal point of the interior space, the concert hall, features programmatic zones around its edges that are articulated into an architectural esplanade.
The keystone-shaped boundary of the courtyard forms a formal entrance to the project. The sloped dome echoes the undulating landscape near Rolle. The building is designed to be compact in size helping to minimise its external surface area, acting as a thermal shield. This arrangement assists in reducing energy consumption and protects the large interior spaces under the dome. The use of polished steel offers additional energy savings over traditional cladding materials.
The new structure has been designed to fit into the existing campus, which features a cohesive, traditional architecture. The buildings are notable for mansard roofs and a wedge-shaped campus plan that opens onto the site. This composition defines an open-ended court. The brief was to expand the campus with a contemporary building, fostering a dialogue between tradition and modernity. The plan also has to update the arts and performance facilities for a new generation of students.
Institut Le Rosey, established in 1880, is one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world. Le Rosey is located on the shores of Lake Geneva, near Rolle. The school is alma mater to diplomats, business leaders, and royalty.
