The main idea of the project is to give each of the 26 cantonal parliaments its own physical extension. All extensions are interconnected through virtuality and are grafted onto the existing buildings as a new technological layer redefining their silhouette. They’re formal spaces, reserved for professionals and political discussions, whose purpose is to strengthen intercantonal coordination. The Vaud parliament in Lausanne is the case further developed. The intervention happens at the top of the building, uniting the surrounding roofs of various geometries by impregnating itself with the existing forms. Seen from the outside, the translucent façades of the pavilion filter the light and reveal the complex machinery that characterizes the project. It’s a “machinery” because the space is modulable and requires technical solutions to function as such.
The walls are made of silicone rod curtains moving along rails, enclosing precise spaces and generating multiple configurations while allowing people to enter such spaces. These configurations make the use flexible by allowing to vary the geometry of the space, the number of participants and the form that the discussion takes. The curtains serve not only as physical dividers, but also as screens to project live video from the connected cantons. Besides the curtains, a whole series of installations necessary to stage the meetings equip the pavilion. Kinetic furniture can be deployed from the wooden floor according to the needs. Also, the imposing volume of the roof houses technical layers materialized in the form of grids that host the lighting and the projectors. The system works in conjunction with a mobile phone application allowing meetings to be scheduled. The user chooses the configuration that the pavilion will adopt, parameters the date and time of the appointment, specifies the subject of the debate and sends a notification to one or more cantonal parliaments to invite them to join a virtual discussion.