SWISS IMMERSION /// This summer we were invited to design a piece to represent Switzerland in Paris during the Euro 2016. At the height of football fever we took the immersive Swiss Reflections to France. A repurposed shipping container set on the Hotel de Ville forecourt, enabling young and old to dive into the Swiss flag and fly over our mountains like a superhero. From 18th June to 10 July 2016, the zone devoted to Switzerland was a participative, creative and playful space accessible to all [...]

HORSEBACK FOLLIES /// Urban Rodeo, a participative installation created by Happy City Lab, took place in the city of Nyon for two weeks in June 2016. Urban Rodeo is a REAL rocking horse 4 meters high and 5 meters long that you can actually climb and ride. Break your routine and saddle up ; Urban Rodeo takes you higher! A fantastic trip through imaginary lands. This installation was accessible in all weathers/at all times. To accompany the event the city of Nyon invited the inhabitants to: - Coffee and [...]

MUSICAL SITUATION /// From Wednesday 8 to Tuesday 21 June 2016, 54 freely accessible pianos have be installed in the streets of 20 Grand Genève communes (Geneva canton, Nyon district, Ain). We place pianos in public spaces and make them freely available to passers-by. In streets, on squares, at bus stops and even in parks, the pianos invite people to take possession of these collective spaces through music, generating new perspectives of the city. On top of these 54 fixed pianos, an itinerant [...]

FREE OPEN-AIR CINEMA /// The 8th edition of CinéTransat took place from July 14 to August 21 in the Perle du Lac Park in Geneva. With CinéTransat you go from an individual classic cinema situation - where you'll be told to be quiet at your first crunch of popcorn - to a collective experience where the crowd applauds the good guys, boos the baddies, shares picnics, sings and dances, together ! The film serves as a pretext to bring people together and create shared experiences.

TALKING WALL /// High point of the 2016 edition of the Earth Festival (Festival de la Terre), Happy City Lab presented an evolving and participative work. Throughout the festival’s duration, from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th June 2016, the ‘Messages for Earth’ installation was co-created thanks to the involvement of festival-goers. The work could be read on two levels: from a wider perspective the word ‘Earth’ (Terre) made of natural materials - and from close-up, messages of hope for the [...]

LITERARY CREATION /// For the second year running, The Geneva International Book and Press Fair invited Happy City Lab to design a 100% interactive and participative space. The Factory is a creative zone in which you're no longer just a visitor - here, everyone is invited to express themselves. This year The Factory came in the form of a surprising 230m2 apartment: 7 wholly interactive and participative rooms, each suggesting an exercise to prompt literary creation. The apartment's particular feature: each room was [...]

RECLAIMING PUBLIC SPACES /// A participative pop-up village designed to encourage citizens of all walks to reclaim public spaces. Playing and dancing with friends and strangers while supporting local artists and associations; a win-win scenario that has people coming back for more, night and day. The village is made up of: participative installations; grand piano, giant boombox, magnetic poetry, games, a reading corner and book exchange... customised modules built primarily from recycled materials concerts and performances by local musicians and dance groups a bar managed exclusively by local associations  

EPHEMERAL URBAN ARTWORK /// 7 beds have been spread in Lausanne around the town centre, giving books a prime spot in our daily lives. A good occasion to escape and dream for a day right in the middle of the street, to take a break outdoors, get comfy and enjoy reading ! Brought by Happy City Lab and Lausanne City Council's Library and Archives department.

POST-IT ARTWORK /// Happy City Lab suggested papering several walls in the P&G Oral Care division office with multicolored Post-its to create pixelated Star Wars heroes. This temporary and striking artwork created with some of the employees is a great example of how we can easily add life to an office environment without breaching building safety codes. The final “Oral Care Touch”: the department's name is also written in Post-its.

SON ET LUMIERE DELIGHTS /// Imagine a symphony orchestra in front of you.... You dream of stepping onto the stage and drifting amongst the musicians, listening to each of their instruments. Street Light Orchestra is.... Four street lamps, each of which plays a sound track from a family of instruments: brass, strings, woodwind, percussion. The fifth, in the centre of the installation, presents the work in its entirety with all the instruments gathered as the conductor hears them. The visitor can physically [...]