Beau Suite Garden enhancement 

This year, some of our LAS Summer in Switzerland students undertook a project focused on the Beau Suite Garden. The students were challenged to create something purposeful and meaningful in the space they were given. With those simple instructions, the students divided into two groups and began brainstorming - and we were pleasantly surprised with the results! 

Drawing inspiration from installations they saw around Lac Lioson and Aigle, the students decided to design aesthetically enjoyable pieces that would bring interest and tourism to Leysin. The next question the students faced was what they could make in such a short amount of time and with limited materials. After considering the space, the students wanted to talk with people that already use the garden. This brought them to Tony from the LAS kitchen. Tony has been working at LAS for many years and loves to work in the Beau Suite Garden, maintaining it and taking care of the chickens. From Tony the students got some ideas of what would be meaningful for the garden that would add interest and hopefully bring more people to this wonderful outdoor space. In their own words, the two sculptural concepts the students came up with were:

• A spiralling piece that you could look up and into as it hangs from the trees. The idea was to make it from natural objects and to have a natural aesthetic that fit with the environment and was decorated with colorful flowers to attract attention. When the viewer looks up, their vision is filled with the joy of flowers as they find peace and relaxation.
• An installation called "The Leysin Girl". The students created a sculpture out of wire, which they carefully body casted then put together over a bamboo skeletal structure. The wire mesh was then filled with grass cut from the area and decorated with faux flowers bought from the local flower shop. The Girl was positioned in a highly visible area to attract the attention of the passengers from the cog train, thus gaining their interest in the area. The idea of the Leysin Girl was to create something to attract attention but to fit with the context of Leysin.

Take a look at the two groups' installations below! We think you'll be just as impressed as we were!