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Abstract

The question of identity in Switzerland, and more specifically in Lausanne, has been a question throughout the last century. Developments in our social situation and morphological patterns through history has brought us to a certain place in time where these elements must find a common meeting ground. On this basis, the study of a certain zone in Lausanne, namely, the Flon platform has proven to be one such meeting of cultures and philosophies. A place can change its appearance during a strictly planned development phase due to increasing and changing needs of the local population. The question that arises, in view of this changing situation, is which social values - often too briefly analyzed - are threatened by elimination. Lausanne Flon has already experienced a substantial identity change over the past years. In looking back on the social „cleansing“ within the area and the almost elimination of Flon „subculture“, one can see a distinct change in its spatial quality and use. It seems to me a necessary attitude, to consider in which phases change and development should be introduced, and to maintain the use of all different age ranges. Introducing into the district of Flon, a program that focuses on cultural and social interests of a certain user group, could prove to be a stabilizing element reinforcing the desire to retain diversity and mutual respect in the area. As a platform for communication, networking and council, a Youth Embassy represents in physical form the structuralisation of these entities typically seen as seperate in a physical and political sense. It is a place in which its interchangeable role of presentation and retreat allows for internal concentration, yet at the same time offers an external pioneering attitude for the youth of Lausanne.

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