La Tuilière football stadium by :mlzd and Sollberger Bögli

A new landmark for Lausanne – the world’s Olympic Capital

With its urban development program “Métamorphose”, the Swiss city of Lausanne is setting course for a sustainable future. In addition to an eco-district featuring around 2,000 apartments, studios and offices, plus a new Métro line, this project also includes the Centre Sportif de la Tuilière. The architectural highlight of this area – consisting of nine football training pitches and an athletics track – is the La Tuilière football stadium. The facade and door systems from Forster installed in this new build exceed the safety requirements for a UEFA-approved stadium while also underlining the iconographic character of the building.

The La Tuilière stadium is dedicated exclusively to football and brings together efficiency in both design and construction to form an unmistakeable landmark on the Lausanne skyline. Designed by :mlzd and Sollberger Bögli, the stadium stands out as a well-thought-out sports arena with a characteristic design. Designed as the “iconographic representation of a trophy”, the stadium has already demonstrated its potential as a new figurehead of the city and as a mecca of football for Western Switzerland during its grand opening.

No cutting corners

As any football fan knows, corners are an important part of the game. In a figurative sense, this also applies to the architectural design of the new stadium. Made predominantly of concrete and steel, the four corners of the rectangular stadium body are cut off at an angle. With only limited space to play with across the stadium footprint, these concrete triangles lead into spacious interaction areas and also offer four covered entrance points for up to 12,000 spectators. The pitch can be seen almost immediately on entry, and is framed by particularly steep stands as commonly seen in English football stadiums. With spectators close to the on-field action, this results in an electrifying atmosphere.

Making the construction visible

As the stadium was not planned for mixed use, the architecture really stands out thanks to the maximum visibility of the construction and materials used. While the uninterrupted views of beneath the stands focus on the structural character of the design, the zones inside the stadium are flooded with daylight and offer spectators an optimal experience both before games and during half time. The side facing the new forecourt was designed with a double facade. This part of the building includes additional amenities such as cloakrooms , VIP lounges and a restaurant. A curtain wall made of glass offers a view outside and breaks up the huge dimensions of the building thanks to its vertically folded design.

Forster Profile Systems on hand to meet complex demands

In order to meet the strict demands in terms of fire protection, energy efficiency and transparency, :mlzd and Sollberger Bögli used the forster thermfix vario facade system for the outer curtain wall. The slim steel profiles have a face width of just 45 mm and, together with the large windows, allow daylight to penetrate deep into the rooms inside. The VIP lounges also utilise this minimalist, elegant facade solution, which exceeds the requirements set out in the fire protection regulations. Forster thermfix vario meets the stringent requirements prescribed by fire resistance class EI30 and features EPDM seals made of synthetic rubber that are particularly flexible, durable and environmentally friendly. This is in addition to outstanding insulation values, which contribute to the stadium having an almost self-sufficient energy supply via the photovoltaic system installed on the roof.

The prescribed fire sections in the corridors leading along the facade are marked by the installed forster fuego light door systems. The flush fire resistant doors ensure optimal safety and continue with the guiding principle of transparency seen throughout the building thanks to their slim steel frames.

Lausanne, Switzerland

facade system forster thermfix vario

door and window systems forster fuego light, forster unico und forster unico RC3

Architecture: :mlzd Architektur , Biel & Sollberger Bögli Architekten AG , Biel

Facade planning: Lüchinger+Meyer , Zurich

Metal fabrication: Sottas SA , Bulle (facade), Orllati Métal , Lausanne (internal doors), Progin SA , Bulle (entrance doors)

Client: City of Lausanne, Department of Sports

Photography: Damian Poffet