Switzerland’s largest theatre opens its doors again with the support of NFIC

On 3 September, the Beaulieu Theatre revealed its new face after a three-year renovation. This long-term project is part of a much larger conversion in which NFIC made a significant contribution. The kind of challenge we relish!

Inaugurated in 1954, the Beaulieu Theatre is a veritable Lausanne institution and the largest theatre in Switzerland. With more than 1,600 seats, state-of-the art stage technology, a foyer across four levels and a brand new restaurant, the renovated venue will host concerts, theatre productions and shows in a magnificent setting with optimal conditions from September 2022.

A building site within a building site

Renovation work on the theatre started in 2019 and is just one part of an immense conversion project encompassing Beaulieu Palace in its entirety. After welcoming the Institute of Nursing in 2018 on its western side, the complex integrated the Court of Arbitration for Sport with its 6,000 m² of office space and courtrooms earlier this year.

The participation of Nicolas Fehlmann Ingénieurs Conseils is what links this succession of building sites, all with very different uses.

NFIC – complex projects in safe hands

In association with the architectural firms Richter – Dahl Rocha & Associés and Fehlmann Architectes, our office showcased its rigour and project management expertise for even the most complex conversion projects.

The new theatre, in particular, had to be constructed while respecting its historical heritage. Here again, NFIC demonstrated its ability to understand and interpret the various unknowns linked to structures that, in some cases, had existed for several decades.

Various construction methods were applied – including pre-stressed concrete and Ultra-High Performance Fibre-Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) – and carbon fibre strips were used to reinforce the existing structure. The excellence of our team was clearly up to the task. Our people demonstrated great flexibility and responsiveness, meticulous care in budget management and scrupulous on-site follow-ups, while respecting schedules and deploying a keen sense of project co-ordination.

A Swiss institution like the Beaulieu Theatre deserves nothing less!