Comparative images
January 1970: I drove to Geneva with just basics as I had no apartment as yet. The car broke down around Canterbury on way to the ferry at Dover. In France the drive was on small roads through the cold night trying to sleep a bit, starting the engine to heat from time to time. At the Swiss border, customs made me remove everything from the car for it to be weighed empty! My first 8 months were spent in a small hotel room. In June my dad died so I returned to England wondering if ever I would have the energy to continue the Swiss job and this open opportunity.
The apartment was ready in October, so all my belongings, furniture, hi-fi and recording equipment, were shipped; now the adventure could finally get under way.
First photo shows Nyon in 1970 from the autoroute exit, note the open spaces and a distinct lack of the Migros garden and DIY center. The largest building is the infamous “Wall of Shame” which is just now nearing the end of demolition 55 years on.
One of the next two largest buildings would become my home for 11 years. See notes on other photos for more history.
1970’s view of 64 Chemin d’Eysins, I was on the 5th floor. Nothing much has changed visually (even though it has been renovated) except today the trees are bigger.
2025 view of same building.
Parking places. The Vauxhall Viva was driven in Switzerland on “Z” plates which give a maximum of one year. It was sold to a colleague who drove it back to England.
Look at those trees: 55 years of growth.
New BMW 2002, newly-planted trees
I think the nicest out of four BMW’s I have driven.
Today, “my” parking place is empty. Across the street are more modern apartments. There used to be a very old individual single family house and wheat fields. Late evening, the old guy would go to his workshop while his wife shouted after him !
Entrance to number 64 was less exotic and certainly less secure, but there were never problems.
Day of delivery of second BMW (528i), metallic green which was destroyed by hail. Damage was noticed a long time after the storm.
ENGLISH:
176 social apartments built in the 1960’s.
Already during construction local people baptised it “Wall of Shame”, as it was constructed in a zone surrounded by fields. (Note it looked much more ugly, it has since been renovated and painted to break up the “wall”.)
ORIGINAL: ( June 2018 )
Le 23 mai dernier, la coopérative Logement social romand (LSR) a réuni au théâtre de Marens les locataires de son bâtiment de la Suettaz, route des Tattes d’Oie. Construit dans les années soixante, il abrite 176 logements qui ne répondent plus aux normes actuelles. Sauf qu’une rénovation coûterait très cher.
Du coup, LSR a décidé de raser ce que certains nyonnais avaient baptisé lors de sa construction «le Mur de la honte» tant cette architecture dépareillait dans une zone qui était alors entourée de champs. Sur l’espace libéré, deux immeubles vont être érigés avec une offre globale de 250 appartements.
Technical note on the first image: it was taken with an Asahi Pentax on 35mm Kodachrome slide film. The slide was not in perfect condition so we (1) removed it from its cardboard holder, (2) cleaned it with lens paper and alcohol, then (3) removed remaining marks in Photo Shop and (4) added some color correction.
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