Fontaine de Milan

FONTAINE DE MILAN, LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND

Fontaine de Milan in the Parc de Milan, Lausanne was inaugurated in 1969, following a redevelopment in the 1950s with the addition of a circular hedge and a vast pool. This redevelopment was part of a greater plan initated by the Lausanne City Council as early as 1905, which aimed at keeping part of the former Montriond-le-Crêt countryside free of construction. The pool was designed by the engineers Roger Cottier and Jean Fantioli. The name “Place de Milan” refers to the Simplon Tunnel, a structure designed to forge new links between Switzerland and Italy. [1,2]

In the audio one can hear the sound of water emitted by the Fontaine de Milan in the Parc de Milan.

1969

CONTEXT

The five-jetted Fontaine de Milan in the park of the same name in Lausanne effectively masks the noise of traffic on the Avenue de Milan behind the hedge on the large lawn. This is all the more successful because the vehicles there remain invisible and the traffic rolls at a steady 50 km/h, so that the rolling noise predominates and merges with the noise of the fountains.

Present

OBSERVATIONS

The powerful fountains is sometimes perceived as loud and aggressive. In fact, 56 dB(A) are measured at the microphone in the foreground, and around 60 dB(A) on the lawn in front of it. For non-coercive conversations, this can already pose a restriction. However, since the Parc de Milan is quite vast, the sound emitted by the fountain can easily be avoided. On the Crêt de Montriond in the middle of the park, the base level is only 44 dB(A).

References

[1] Place de Milan, Ville de Lausanne. Retrieved: 18 July 2023. https://www.lausanne.ch/vie-pratique/nature/parc-promenades/parcs-de-detente/place-milan-cret-monriond.html.

[2] Place de Milan, Ville de Lausanne. Retrieved: 18 July 2023. https://www.lausanne.ch/vie-pratique/culture/bibliotheques-et-archives/lire-a-lausanne/lausanne-noms-de-rues/lausanne-noms-de-rue-milan.html.

Photos, video, audio: Beat Hohmann.
Entry submitted by: Beat Hohmann, Claude Thomas