Musée de l'Elysée to Relocate to Plateforme 10 in Lausanne by 2021

The Musée de l'Elysée in Lausanne, dedicated to photography since 1985, will move to a new building at Plateforme 10 near the train station by 2021. The museum, originally a mansion built between 1780 and 1783 by architect Abraham Fraisse, was acquired by the state in 1971 and opened as a photography museum in October 1985. The new venue, designed by Portuguese firm Aires Mateus (winner of a 2015 international competition with 21 participants), will be shared with the MUDAC (Musée de Design et d'Arts appliqués Contemporains). The project is supported by the Canton Vaud, the City of Lausanne, and the CFF (Swiss Federal Railways), and is considered unprecedented for Switzerland. The building features two geometrically polished concrete volumes that meet and open, with a floating space between them. The museum holds around two million items, including collections from Charlie Chaplin, René Burri, Nicolas Bouvier, Ella Maillart, and Jan Groover (whose personal collection became part of the museum in 2017). Current exhibitions include retrospectives of Martine Franck (co-produced with Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris), Vasantha Yogananthan, Yann Mingard, and Jan Groover. Starting May 29, the public can access the stocktaking floor to verify inventory before the move. Director Tatyana Franck emphasizes the museum's focus on social challenges, workshops, conferences, and the annual Nuit des images festival.