Une Visite à la Famille Mercier

The proposal ‘Une Visite à la Famille Mercier’ Tomas Degenaar and I sent in for the Lausanne Jardins 2019 festival has been selected. The jury was convinced by our proposal to simulate a possible occupation, showing the quality and importance of the unbuilt space in the city. The next step will be the technical and financial detailing of the project.

In the upper part of the Promenade Jean-Jacques Mercier, the famous Lausanne family Mercier planned to build a building, which was not built following opposition from the neighborhood: the building would have privatized the view. ‘Une Visite à la Famille Mercier’ proposes to revive this nineteenth-century project by materializing it with a scaffolding and a printed building wrap, evoking a classic villa, inhabited by the silhouettes of the members of the Mercier family, transforming the public park into a private garden. The monumental effect of the installation demonstrates the impact that this real estate operation would have had.