Life Section Studio

Life Section Studio

portfolio of works by Elisabeth Vitswamba


Évian Les Bains is a holiday resort town on the shore of Lake Geneva. Blue Hub Évian is a ferry terminal, bath, and commercial center for Évian, and is an iconic building that captures the magnificence of the surrounding landscape and the material richness of the spa experience. The building steps down the slope of the park in strips of open, mat program. Each strip of program has the service and private spaces tucked into the hill, and each has a curved concrete roof that echos the form of the surrounding mountains.

completed with Anne Linde van Overmeir

The roofs are planted with grass and overlap one another creating a new park landscape on top of the building. The curves are formed over a pedestrian bridge that descends diagonally through the building from the street down to the pier, some instances opening up, and at others only offering glimpses to the program. The entire northern facade is glazed offering open views to the lake and the mountains beyond. From the outside the private portions of the glass are mirrored and the public areas are transparent.