Restoration of the Cercle de L’Ermitage in Epesses, Switzerland

Abstract

In 1935, Alberto Sartoris transformed an old mill into a private club for artists: le Cercle de l’Ermitage. The young architect conceptualized the space as a manifesto of rationalistic architecture. The resolutely modernist choice of the intervention contrasted with the rural and bucolic existing building. In 1971, the work disappeared under fake rustic decoration and everybody considered it lost, only remaining one of the most famous axonometries of the Italian master. Forty-five years later, the work reappears miraculously while the space is under transformation into a private residence. The demolition work has revealed an unexpected amount of original elements, which will allow a faithful and rigorous restoration of the Cercle de l’Ermitage.