La Vedette Reconstruction
An Interactive Application
In collaboration with Aisling O’Carroll and Jonah Ling
Between 1874 and 1876, Viollet-le-Duc constructed a home for himself on the outskirts of
Lausanne, Switzerland. The house, called La Vedette, overlooked Lake Geneva and the Savoy Alps beyond. The front room of the house, the Grande Salle, served as the architect’s studio, dining room, and meeting room during his brief stays. In 1879, the architect died while seated at his desk in the studio of La Vedette following a short illness. The house subsequently passed through different owners. The painted murals were lost at an unknown time, and in 1975 the house was demolished.
In this interactive application, the Grande Salle of La Vedette is reconstructed in a virtual 3D environment to provide an immersive experience of the studio in which the architect’s drawing practice and creative works took shape. The reconstruction combines digital technologies with hand drawing and original works from Viollet-le-Duc’s archive. This combination of analogue and digital methods with original archival materials offers a contemporary reinterpretation of Viollet -le-Duc’s use of drawing and his historical imagination as instruments of restoration.
The reconstructed studio can be experienced from three positions within the room: a central position; the architect’s dining table where he would take breakfast ; and the architect’s working desk where he worked on drawings, manuscripts, and architectural projects.
Interactive Touch-screen Experience Walkthrough
( Jean-Eugène Durand, 1880-1890)
( Jean-Eugène Durand, 1880-1890)
( Jean-Eugène Durand, 1880-1890)