The Cloud is pure atmosphere, lacking substance. The contours are blurred and elusive. A completely new construction material, mist (a first attempt was made for the Universal Exhibition in Osaka in 1970), allows for the creation of a room without walls. Water from the lake is filtered through 31'400 nozzles at high-pressure and it emerges in spray form at a pressure of 80 bars minimum, along a 7 kilometers system of pipes. Mobile architecture, the Cloud is in constant state of flux. Winds, temperature changes and humidity influence its appearance, its transparency and its shape. The system's own meteorological stations constantly analyses the weather and regulate the water pressure, to ensure an uniform dispersion of the fine water droplets in every one of the 22 zones. The Tensegrity framework is made up of cables linking metal bars. This system, a double inverted pyramidal shape, allows large cantilevers. Only four pillars, anchored in the lake, support the Cloud, so that it appears to be suspended above the water. Visitors take a glass-fiber footbridge and head towards a platform, taking the stairs through the mist. Then after strolling around the Cloud, they discover at the top the Angel Bar, where they can taste mineral water from all over the world.
Arteplage
Yverdon-les-Bains
The Cloud in figures
Steel weight: 700 t
Floor plan (elliptical): 4,800 m²
Maximum length: 60.00 m
Maximum width: 30.00 m / 20.00 m / 7.50 m
Height above water: 20.00 m
Authors/Architecture
Diller & Scofidio, New York, United States www.dsrny.com
Elizabeth Diller (Project Director)
Ricardo Scofidio (Project Director)
Dirk Hebel (Project Manager)
Eric Bunge (Project Manager)
Reto Geiser (Design team)
David Huang (Design team)
Karin Ocker (Design team)
Andreas Quadenau (Design team)
Charles Renfro (Design team)
Lyn Rice (Design team)
Deane Simpson (Design team)
Realisation fog
BIOgenesis, Villars-sur-Glâne
Consulting fog
Thomas Mee
Fujiko Nakaya
Lighting design
Delux Theater Lighting (Rolf Derrer), Zurich
Sound design
Christian Marclay
Sound engineer
Douglas Irving Repetto
Sound installation
Nicolas Dhellin
Audio Consultant
Jens Maasen
Engineers bridges
Structures - Staubli, Kurath & Partner AG (Josef Kurath), Zurich www.tragwerken.ch
General contractors
Marti AG, Moosseedorf (piles) www.martiag.ch
HRS Hauser Rutishauser Suter AG (Beat Widmer), Crissier www.hrs.ch
Steel construction
Haslinger Stahlbau GmbH, Feldkirchen, Austria www.haslinger.co.at
Water filtration
Membratec SA, Sierre www.membratec.ch
Guides
Chantal Allemand, Ariane Allgöwer, Olivier Amrein, Romain Angier, Roman Benninger, Nicole Boegli, Jehanne Carnal, Marie Madeleine Collet, Julia Dias, Patrick Dorsaz, Laure Favre, Simone Frischknecht, Mélita Goufas, Jérôme Grand, Julien Grobet, Nicolas Grosset, Suzanne Haziot, Christian Heiniger, David Joliquin, Anita Lovasz, Elodie Magnin Collet, Guy Metrailler, Nicolas Michel, Patricia Pache, Laure Pasquier, Stéphanie Reymond, André Riggenbach, Sven Nelson Ruffiner, Marie Schaer, Benedikt Schläppi, Eric Schmit, Ursula Schweingruber, Alexandre Seydoux, Mathieu Simonin, Christophe Spitz, Patrick Tacchini, Catherine Vifian, Fabienne Vuilleumier
Photos: © Holzer Kobler Architekturen GmbH www.holzerkobler.com; © Philipp Zanatta; © Christoph Steudler; © Andreas Mosimann; © Beat Widmer; © Michael Studt; © Urs Berwert: © Martin Lüchinger; © Eugen von Arb; © Jürg Frei; © Joël Joliat; © Trudy Hebeisen; © Tom Weilenmann; ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Hans-Peter Bärtschi / SIK_03-073567 / CC BY-SA 4.0; © Norbert Aepli Lizenz https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/deed.de; © Claudio Abächerli; © Myriam Neuhaus; © Hugo Keller; © VierNullVier; © Claude & Dominique Wacker-Cao; © Isa Stürm Urs Wolf SA, Zürich www.stuermwolf.net; © Walter Giger; © Familie Kartas, Hallwil; © Joseph Tame - CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
