Feature: Better cities
Photo series: An urban aesthetic in the agglomeration
From a bleak garden tower to trendy mountain suburbs: photographer Michel Bonvin from Lausanne has been capturing the beauty and ugliness of modern architecture in conurbations outside the big metropolises.
The architect Riken Yamamoto wanted to build a city near Zurich Airport. ‘The Circle’ is the result – although the architecture magazine Hochparterre deems it unsuccessful. Instead, they say, it has become merely an “investment palace”. | Images: Michel Bonvin
Urbanisation is taking place in agglomerations, such as here in the ‘Garden Tower’ on the former industrial estate of Suurstoffi outside Rotkreuz in Zug.
The latest trend: Raised beds on the roofs of the modern suburb of Oassis in Crissier, Vaud, where an old people’s home is designed to mix the generations.
Modern, sober, well thought-out: the heart of the Oassis suburb in Crissier, Vaud.
‘Uptown Mels’ is what this car-free suburb proudly calls itself. It is being constructed from the buildings of an old textile factory and is due to be finished by 2023. It is situated at the foot of the Pizol Mountain, and claims to combine Alpine vistas with urban charm.
It looks pretty and green in summer, but it’s bleak in midwinter. The ‘Garden Tower’ outside Rotkreuz is considered the main landmark of the Suurstoffi suburb.
