A spiralling staircase is visible behind the gridded exterior of this office block in Vevey, Switzerland, by Swiss firm Personeni Raffaele Schärer Architects.

The ECA/OAI Building comprises five levels of office space, overlooking a roof garden on the ground-floor plinth.

This plinth contains an entrance lobby and cafe that can also be accessed by neighbouring buildings.

Photography is by Tonatiuh Ambrosetti.

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Here is some text from the architects:

Personeni Raffaele Schärer Architects
ECA/OAI office building Vevey, Switzerland, 2011

The new building completes a city block in the centre of Vevey.

The urban void behind the buildings was a residual space used as a parking lot and for utility purposes.

The intervention took advantage of the void and turned it into a main hall for all the buildings of the block.

The once neglected space became a common area with a big patio and a green roof, offering a garden view for all the buildings around it.

The new five floors office building frames the roof garden without enclosing it and maintains a wide visual panorama on the city and the mountains.

Architectural competition. First prize 2008. Construction 2009 - 2011

Architects: Personeni Raffaele Schärer Architectes

Client: ECA, Etablissement d’assurance contre l’incendie et les éléments naturels du Canton de Vaud

User: OAI, Office de l’assurance-invalidité pour le canton de Vaud

Address: Rue des Entrepôts, 1800 Vevey, VD

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