Vortex: The Architecture of a Circle

A study of the striking Vortex building in Lausanne, Switzerland, the home for the athletes of the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

Edited and authored by the renowned architecture expert Philip Jodidio, this book is dedicated to a new, eye-catching building by the Swiss architecture firm Durig AG located in Lausanne, also known as the Olympic Capital. As the structure’s name suggests, Vortex is an 88-foot-high tower in the shape of a circular crown, rising around a 1.7-mile-long single ramp. Its spiraling movement creates an emblematic shape reminiscent of Olympic rings - a fitting tribute for a building that housed the 1,700 talented young athletes who competed in January 2020’s Winter Youth Olympic Games.

Over 130 photographs, sketches, plans, and models illuminate this enormous undertaking, while Jodidio’s informative text offers detailed insight into the phases of design and construction. Imagery of circular references from art, architecture, and nature also highlight the inspiration behind the building’s extraordinary shape. Printed in Italy using the finest European papers, this new volume is a beautiful ode to Vortex and Lausanne’s forward-looking spirit.