Synapsis colony

An attractive density and an urban centrality are the main aims of this project. They have been explored through the genesis of a system of intercommunicating architectures that “infect” the surrounding landscape. A network of connections, like a transposition of historic paths into a denser texture, becomes a web of flows that generate a system of shared public spaces amidst the residences and the area. Just like “living synapses” that connect parts of a system, architectures generate an uninterrupted urban pattern that is a succession of multi-functional environments and “rurban” cells: new social stages. Multiplicity, aggregation and typological flexibility generate the social mix needed for a new vision of living, what the nature of space seeks to become.

2010-2015…
Following the competition, the team is commissioned to develop a preliminary project including the eleven units with 3-4 levels of the original project but containing 92 dwellings instead of the 72 proposed during the competition. The draft must also integrate daycare nursery-proposed in the original project but for 60 children plus 15 jobs, 1 cultural centre and 176 parking spaces (instead of 150 in the competition project).
The eleven triplicity form elements converse and spill into the landscape, creating shared public spaces among residences. Like Architecture in the existing urban fabric, the junction becomes a starting point for triggering successive levels of interaction with the place. It’s a vision of living far from the dangers of mute aggregate. Faced with changing needs, it is regenerated from urban social stages in the competition phase to a more intimate appearance in the preliminary project, a room of one’s own. The threshold between public and private shifts continuously.
Since summer 2012, when the team finished the preliminary design "Synapsiedlung", the Municipality of Montreux developed the change of the partial allocation plan (PPA) "Les Grands Prés". The submission of the PPA for the preliminary screening by the canton was done in February 2014, with a delay of several months compared to the period provided (summer 2013). The PPA has been completed while remaining faithful to the principles and architectural choices of the preliminary project, but modifying some aspects related to the demands of the real estate market. Thus the density of the neighbourhood has been pushed up, notably by adding a level on several buildings: on the 11 planned units, 8 units will be 4 levels and 3 other 3 levels, thus bringing the number of dwellings between 180 and 200. Currently, (spring 2015), the PPA has exceeded the preliminary screening by the Canton and was published after a public information session. The PPA would enter into force in November 2015. This will be followed by the publication of the tender for investors to stipulate a public-private partnership. The contract conditions for the team will be defined in coordination with the municipality and the investor, once it is known.