The sports complex of Bellerive-Plage is among the most loved leisure sites in Lausanne as well as a jewel of functionalist architecture. Besides its pools, it has a round building containing its entrance and a restaurant and a long, curved locker room. Its architecture, and notably its use of glass, evokes lightness. The dressing rooms are arranged on two levels, one for women and one for men.
It was all built from 1936 to 1937 during a time of economic crisis and the contemporary development of a leisure society. The project was part of a plan to fight unemployment and for this reason no machines were allowed on the building site, thereby creating jobs.
The architect was Marc Piccard of Lausanne. He was responsible for enlarging the site in 1962. Meticulous renovation was carried out in 1993 by the architects Inès Lamunière and Patrick Devanthéry, with careful attention to the historical monuments.
