maurice zermatten square, sion, competition

client :

city of sion

program :

planning of a memorial square in valère

dates :

competition december 2008

collaboration :

françois meyer architecture, sion

this square occupies a magnificent site, which unfortunately is completely isolated from its surroundings by peripheral walls and by trees and shrubs. the project attempts to eliminate these barriers, reuniting this square with its surroundings. the predominant elements of the site are the rocky crags of tourbillon and valère, which “touch” the square without any impediment, creating an interesting connection between the square, with its constructed character, and the raw rock. on the town side, the same principle applies. the built area currently ends in a space which is used as a parking area. we propose to construct a small building to accommodate a cafeteria/information point, in order to clearly mark the end of the build area.

to the east, the transition between the square and the adjacent green areas occurs gradually, as if the vegetation was quietly reasserting its rights over the square.

as a tribute to maurice zermatten, we propose to quote from one of his texts using lettering made up of plants which, by virtue of the topography of the site, will be clearly visible from the paths to the castles while being fairly abstract when seen from the square itself.