BOBST Headquarters, to organize and extend an industrial headquarters complex in the countryside of the French-Swiss canton of Vaud explores the richness of the relationship between the built ensemble and the rural landscape it occupies.

Since 1974, the Bobst Group, one of the major producers of machinery for the manufacturing of packaging materials, has occupied this 29-hectare parcel in a bucolic setting to the west of greater Lausanne, straddling the three communes of Mex, Villars-Sainte-Croix, and Vufflens-la-Ville.
Photography: Yves André
In 2012, Bobst decided to centralize all of its production activity in Mex. A new building at the main entrance to the site was designed to accommodate 6,100 square meters of office space as well as a 4,000 square meters showroom and training facility. At the other end of the site, next to an existing sports field and gymnasium, a second new building was designed to house a restaurant – a glass pavilion offering views of the near and distance landscape – and a daycare center for up to 40 children. Across from this, an existing production facility was extended to increase factory space by 14,300 square meters. Photography: Yves André
One side of the long main building houses the great expanse of the Showroom and Competence Center; on the other side, the “clearing” of the courtyard garden is surrounded by glazed office and meeting spaces that function as the company’s administrative...