2020 Vision: Looking ahead to Lausanne 2020 – the Youth Olympic Village

As the countdown to the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Lausanne 2020 continues, we focus on the Youth Olympic Village and its stunning architectural centrepiece – the purpose-built Vortex building.

When the young athletes from more than 70 National Olympic Committees arrive in Switzerland in January next year for the 3^rd edition of the Winter YOG, they will be accommodated in the lap of luxury courtesy of the state-of-the-art Vortex building located in the heart of the campus of the University of Lausanne.

The latest addition to the city’s academic district is a ring-shaped building that will house 1,880 competitors in 952 rooms or apartments during the Games. At its tallest point, the Vortex is 27m high and boasts a circumference of 430m and a total surface area of 36,700m². The inner courtyard alone is 4,000m².

Construction on the new building began in May 2017 and will be completed in October this year. The campus in the west of the city near Lake Geneva is also home to the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law and the International Academy of Sport Science and Technology. More than 30,000 people study or work on the campus on a daily basis.

With legacy at the forefront of planning for Lausanne 2020, after the Games the Vortex will officially be handed over to the University of Lausanne and repurposed as much-needed modern accommodation for 700 students.

Ian Logan, CEO of the Lausanne 2020 Organising Committee, said: “This project is a true, practical application of [Olympic] Agenda 2020 and its three overarching themes of sustainability, credibility and youth. This development shows that, when approached in the right way, a Games masterplan can make real sense for a host region.

“To have such a good case study in the heart of the University campus for our next generation of students is wonderful – we couldn’t dream of a better message to start our story.”

Source: olympic.org