Keystone-SDA
The first stone of the construction site for the future campus of the School of Design and Haute Ecole d’Art (Edhea) and the Valais Couture School in Sierre was laid on Monday afternoon. Expected for the start of the 2027 school year, the future training establishment will bring together the two schools and better meet their specific needs.
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28 avril 2025 – 17:10
(Keystone-ATS) The symbolic installation of the foundation stone was made jointly by Christophe Darbellay (the head of the Valais department of economics and training), Pierre Berthod (the president of Sierre), François Seppey (director of the HES-SO Valais) and the cantonal architect, Philippe Venetz.
The physical proximity of the various sectors should also lead to new artistic collaborations between schools and the various sectors, according to the State of Valais. They also concern the pooling of common spaces.
Capacity limits
The EDHEA premises are currently spread over various buildings in the city of Sierre. The grouping in a single site will strengthen the unity and identity of the school as well as its attractiveness in the competitive world of art schools.
For its part, the building occupied by the sewing school has reached its limits in terms of reception and is no longer suitable for development needs and the realization of new training projects.
A Geneva project
Developed by the CLR Architects SA offices in Geneva and Edms Engineers SA in Petit-Lancy (GE), the architectural project takes place on the site of the old Usego Halles. The existing halls will be preserved.
An exhibition hall open to the public, a refectory, a cafeteria, a library and workshops are planned in this new case. The future campus will be completed by the establishment of a new construction in the southwest of the existing building. This new volume will include six levels and will accommodate the administrative part of the campus, training spaces, a projection and conference room as well as an Aula.
Devised at 46.7 million francs, shared between the State of Valais, the Confederation via the State Secretariat for Training, Research and Innovation and the Municipality of Sierre, the new campus will welcome nearly 300 people in training.
