Founded in Lausanne in 2001, Lemanarc was born through the curiosity of Vincent Zhang’s multicultural background. He aspired to improve the coexistence of his international context along with nurturing his traditional values. Nowadays with offices in Montreux and Shanghai, Lemanarc aims to create a cultural dialogue between Swiss accuracy and Chinese efficiency. With intentions of promoting the cooperation between the two countries through his architecture, Vincent Zhang was honoured to present the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital in 2020 to the Swiss Federal Speaker.
Today’s generation is facing new challenges. The twist of reality brought by COVID showed to our society the importance of the healthcare field. This topic is an ongoing investigation that Lemanarc has been researching since its origins, aiming to break the negative connotation of the word ‘hospital’. Further studies have been made to understand the definition of the word, especially as it has different origins in the occidental and oriental cultures. Through this, Lemanarc projects demonstrate a sociological improvement of the sensorial experience as well as highlighting other factors that affect the users.
Lemanarc’s network of healthcare experts is essential to have a foundation of knowledge, as this will inevitably encourage new design solutions. This interdisciplinary collaboration is created before, during and after each project process. It is crucial to stay active as medical advancements are constantly changing and the design should be in accordance with the understanding of its needs.
Lemanarc’s main aim within the construction process is to integrate architecture with its local context, whilst adding an extra layer of the current humanistic touch. The office research helps to incorporate healing design strategies as well as ‘gardenize architecture’ principles. Each project is based on a unique and refreshing appearance in addition to practical composition, targeted to become a memorable building.