In 2015, Stefano Boeri Architetti won an important international architectural competition for a tower mainly for residential use to be built in the town of Chavannes-Près-Renens near Lausanne (Switzerland). This is how La Torre dei Cedri or the Tower of Cedars came to be but it is more than just a simple tower or a “house” extended vertically.
The project, which is currently under development, is rather a genuine prototype of a new model of housing, capable of providing a harmonious coexistence between a high level of comfort within the apartments and a direct and privileged relationship between the inhabitants themselves and the natural and vegetal world that houses them.
![Tower of Cedars](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/The-Tower-of-Cedars-by-Stefano-Boeri-Architetti-01.jpg)
In particular, the principal character residing in this space (as much as if not more so than humans) is the cedar tree. Characterized by an iconic shape and a high resistance to climatic variations, it is found here in a number of different varieties which establish and continue a dialogue and a continuity of habitat with those already populating the surrounding area.
These primary factors give a powerful definition to the project and are combined with a unique condition of exchange and empathy with the typical local lakeside landscape through giving an open view from the tower over Lake Leman. In the same way, but from a different observation point, the vertical and unmistakable presence of the building stands out as a new, strong territorial landmark: an urban point of reference visible from all over the north of Lausanne.
![Tower of Cedars](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/The-Tower-of-Cedars-by-Stefano-Boeri-Architetti-02.jpg)
This presence confirms and reinforces the extraordinary balance between nature and the city, Lake Leman, the forest and the fields – all those basic elements that make up the rich DNA of the “Chavannois” landscape. In this way La Torre dei Cedri should be considered not only as a particular example of decisive design innovation but also as an important element on a broader scale and on a conceptual, cultural and symbolic level.
In these terms, the project can be interpreted as a “living symbol” of a new relationship between the urban and the natural sphere and an essential example of biodiversity architecture. From a typological and construction point of view, the Lausanne tower is a 117-metre-high rectangular-shaped building with a floor plan of 52 x 15.5 meters and laid out along a north-south axis.
![Tower of Cedars](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/The-Tower-of-Cedars-by-Stefano-Boeri-Architetti-03.jpg)
In addition to the 195 apartments of different sizes and types, the 36 floors of La Torre dei Cedri offer a large number of spaces for office use and communal services including a gym and a restaurant. The structure houses more than 80 large trees taken from three different types of cedars in addition to shrubs and other plants of various size and species to give a total planted area of about 3,000 square metres.
In order to create a sense of harmony with the floral organisms, the overall volume of the tower is characterized by the presence of a series of protruding elements including loggias of variable length in a staggered arrangement that, in addition to housing the trees as if they were in gigantic “pots”, enlivens the facades and breaks up the rigid vertical succession of floors.
![Tower of Cedars](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/The-Tower-of-Cedars-by-Stefano-Boeri-Architetti-04.jpg)
With overhangs of over 3 metres, the projecting elements are mainly arranged on the south façade and, to a lesser extent, on the east and west facades. Observed from inside, the loggias extend the space of the apartments outwards, allowing the inhabitants to “project” themselves into the surrounding landscape: an immersive sensation amplified exponentially by the presence of the natural green interface.
In addition to the residential tower, the project developed by Stefano Boeri Architetti includes a commercial centre of 5,000 square metres serving the new complex, and the design of various public connecting spaces. In terms of distribution and architecture, a definite separation between the various functional areas is envisaged. Source by Stefano Boeri Architetti.
![Tower of Cedars](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/The-Tower-of-Cedars-by-Stefano-Boeri-Architetti-05.jpg)
![Tower of Cedars](https://aasarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/The-Tower-of-Cedars-by-Stefano-Boeri-Architetti-06.jpg)
- Location: Chavannes-Prés-Renens, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Architect: Stefano Boeri Architetti
- Partner and project director: Marco Giorgio
- Project leader: Marco Neri
- Design Team: Giacomo Volpe, Jacopo Villa
- Local architect: RDR Architectes SA
- Agronomist, Botanist, landscape: Studio Laura Gatti
- Structure: NFIC + INGENI
- Installations: Weinmann-Energies SA, Lausanne
- Electrical systems: MAB
- Geological survey: Géolosanne
- Firefighting: BG Protection incedie
- Façade specialist: Emmer Pfenninger
- Acoustic: D’Silence
- BIM Manager: ABLE
- Topographical surveys: Reso Vaud Sàrl, Prilly CH
- Traffic study: Transitec SA Lausanne
- Consultants: Studio Laura Gatti (Botanical expert)
- Images: Courtesy of Stefano Boeri Architetti