The lakes of Villars

photographies: Lorena Morales Martín,
graduate of Architecture at Liverpool John Moores University

Photographies have been taken during EASA Tourist, 26.07. – 11.08.2019, held in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland.

Villars-sur-Ollon is a small Swiss village in the canton of Vaud, located at over 1,200 meters above sea level. One of the few ways to reach Villars is to take a train from Lausanne to Bex. For over two hours, there’s a view of Lake Geneva and the mountain massif located on the French side of Alps, monotonously outlining their contours behind the window.
This is the first lake to encounter.

The mountain railway wades through heavy rain for over 60 mins, covering over 1000 m altitude difference. This rain is a promise to see the glaciers immersing in the fog the next morning. After reaching Villars, the next three lakes are only within a short mountain hike or a little travel by train.

Water is here under each of the possible forms.

// EASA

EASA is a non-profit and decentralized structure, organized and led by volunteers. As a platform for cultural and educational exchange, EASA connects Architecture students and professionals from all European countries, and in recent years from all over the world. Currently, EASA consists of 49 European national teams, an international team and two teams of parallel organizations: NASA (National Association of Students of Architecture, India) and CLEA (Coordinadora Latinoamericana de Estudiantes de Arquitectura, Latin America).

The EASA summer assembly spreads over two weeks in summer, gathering half a thousand students of architecture each summer from more than 200 Schools of Architecture. During these 14 days, the multitude of EASAians forms a utopian community that maintains itself – nearly 500 students and professionals work, study, rest, cook, eat, clean and live together. There are participants, tutors, organizers, helpers, and guests. The event focuses mostly on the workshops – taking up the majority of time. The event program is essentially packed with lectures, conducted by professionals from divergent spheres of activity, also strongly related to the theme. Exhibitions, open discussions, intuitive one-day workshops, and spontaneous performances further investigate the questions arising during the two weeks.