Hüsler & associés: The new Place des Anciens-Fossés in la Tour-de-Peilz is located downtown, just outside the former ramparts of the city. The construction of an underground car park providing 240 parking spaces allowed a complete redevelopment of the place, which is now dedicated only to pedestrians. The development offers different atmospheres, articulating a large space, the Place des Anciens-Fossés, with several sub-spaces.
The Place des Anciens-Fossés contrast by its new green atmosphere with the very urban and mineral character of the Main Street. Outdoor activities linked with the community hall, events, temporary exhibitions, stands of stores, terraces of bars and market find their place there. Two sub-spaces are defined there, carrying equipment. They create a different animation on the length of the square: The Placette du Marché, livened up by water features, can accommodate the market or other events; The Placette des Jeux is located under a double row of maple- trees and has been design in collaboration with the Musée suisse du Jeu director.
The Place du Temple, located inside the historic village, consist of a fountain and a lime tree. The Jardin des Remparts, set back from the space and surrounded by residential buildings and fortification stone walls, is convenient to take a break. This is a place where coexist subtly vegetable and mineral. The gardened fringes manage the limits. They advance on the Place des Anciens-Fossés, creating sub-spaces with different uses and scales. These generous greenery surfaces provide cool and shaded rest areas.
Generally, the project suggests to revisit the historical landscape elements, offering several vegetal typologies. The tree layer consist of sophoras sequences (structuring the square), rows of maple-trees (creating a transition space in between the Place des Anciens-Fossés and the College des Marronniers courtyard) and multi-stemmed persistent oaks. The shrub layer consist of shrubs, perrenials and grasses which are offering blooms and textures of any kind.
Formerly, water filled the moats of the city walls. Today, it is present under various forms in the development. Sometimes it run off, sometimes it sprays out, creating a different attraction according the spaces. Associated with reflexions games installed under the maple trees, a fountain made of 10 waterjets constitute entertainment facilities for children. Wooden benches with or without seatback are integrated to gardens concrete walls. Fifty meters benches allow relaxation along the square in front of the shops. Light-pole are arranged in the gardens along the square. Appliques and LED headlamps allow also to highlight the remarkable architectural elements. A lowering of the lighting saves energy by hours of the night. The pavement alternating 3 shades of gray is executed with a granite tile (dimension 20 x 40). The choice of natural stone shows the will to create a new resolutely pedestrian space.The Place du Temple, smaller, is coated with a “classic” Swiss sandstone paving on the entire surface.
Landscape architect : Hüsler & associés, Lausanne, Switzerland
Location: La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland
Competition: 2012
Design: 2013
Construction: 2014-2015
Area: 7’850 m2
Budget: 5.8 Mio CHF
Client: Commune de la Tour-de-Peilz