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Éole

Éole is a sculpture by the Italian artist Clelia Bettua, installed in 1994 on a breakwater in front of the marina in Lausanne, in the Swiss canton of Vaud. Bettua won the city’s 1991 ideas competition for the redesign of Place de la Navigation in the Ouchy district. The four-ton metal sculpture takes the form of a “C” shaped wind vane with a diameter of 20 metres, raised into place with the help of a helicopter. It is named after the wind god Aiolos. About 150 metres away on the quay stand four monoliths with semicircular openings that indicate the prevailing winds on Lake Geneva.

Éole, a large white curved sculpture on a rocky breakwater beside sailboats in a marina.
Éole by Clelia Bettua on the breakwater at Ouchy, overlooking the marina in Lausanne.
September 2019 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Éole, a large white D-shaped metal sculpture on a rocky breakwater with a marina in the background.
Éole stands on the Ouchy breakwater, overlooking sailboats and the lakeside waterfront.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Éole ring sculpture is seen through an opening in a dark stone wall, with water and sky behind it.
Éole is framed by a stone wall, standing on the breakwater beyond the water.
April 2020 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Éole, a dark C-shaped metal sculpture, stands on a breakwater near sailboats in the marina.
Éole stands on a breakwater in Lausanne’s marina, with sailboats moored nearby under an overcast sky.
© · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr
Éole sculpture with gleaming metallic bars fanning out against a blue sky.
Éole, seen here in detail with its intertwined metallic bars set against the sky.
October 2023 © · CC BY-SA 4.0

Identification

TitleÉole
Typecontemporary sculpture; wind vane sculpture

Creator

ArtistClelia Bettua
Artist nationalityItalian
Artist birth date6 August 1963
Artist birth placeRolle

Historical context

Created1994
Competition historyIn 1991, Bettua won the City of Lausanne’s design competition for the redevelopment of Place de la Navigation; she also won the first ideas prize in the same competition

Materials

Materialmetal

Physical characteristics

Weight4 tons
Diameter20 meters
Shapea C shape

Iconography and meaning

Naming referenceNamed after Aeolus (Aiolos), the wind god
FunctionIndicates the prevailing winds on Lake Geneva

Location and ownership

LocationOn a breakwater in front of the yacht harbor of Lausanne, in Ouchy, canton of Vaud, Switzerland, on the shore of Lake Geneva (Léman)
SettingPart of the Place de la Navigation redevelopment

History and restoration

Installation dateSeptember 1994
Installation methodInstalled with the help of a helicopter

Associated elements

MonolithsFour monoliths stand about 150 meters away on the quay of Place de la Navigation
Monolith featureEach monolith has a semicircular bore/notch
Wind indicationsThe monoliths indicate bise, vent (blanc), vaudaire, and joran when the sculpture’s C shape forms a circle with one of the bores/notches
Photographic interpretationIn the photos, the sculpture forms a circle with the bise monolith’s notch
Windless conditionWhen there is no wind, the sculpture is reflected in the harbor basin water

Significance

Artist award 1995Prix Jeunes Créateurs from the Vaud cultural foundation
Artist award 2008Prix Casimir Reymond